


Small Town Love

by CressidaGrey



Series: Under The Full Moon [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Parents, Adopted Children, And a whole lot of other first times..., Assault, Baby Werewolves, Beating, Bullying, Child Neglect, Coming of Age, Consensual Underage Sex, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, First Time, Full Shift Werewolves, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Grief/Mourning, High School, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Loss of Parent(s), Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overcoming Loss, Parent-Child Relationship, Past Child Abuse, References to Drugs, Small Towns, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Trauma, True Mates, Underage Drinking, Werewolf Healing, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:28:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 37
Words: 149,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22777156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CressidaGrey/pseuds/CressidaGrey
Summary: For Daphne Emerson, New York City was her home. The city that never slept, the high skyscrapers, the Metropolitan Museum of Art if she actually had enough money for once to visit it, the tiny refrigerator of an apartment that she shared with her mother.When her mother dies, things change.NYC is left behind and Daphne goes to live with her aunt and uncle in the tiny, coastal town of Fairbury, Maine.Fairbury maybe was smaller than NYC had been, but that didn't mean that it was boring. It was filled to the brim with the typical small-town gossip, snippy classmates and, of course, werewolves.Wait, what?!*****Luke Schuyler always knew what was expected of him. He had been raised as the future Alpha of the Schuyler pack, he wrote straight A's in school and was the quarterback of the football team.He had grown up in the sleepy town of Fairbury and so when a new girl begins at school, that also happened to be the cousin of his best friend, he doesn't think much about it.That was the first strike.The second strike came when he saw her the first time. Because Daphne Emerson was his mate.***(Crossposted on Wattpad under the same Username)
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Under The Full Moon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945405
Comments: 98
Kudos: 122





	1. Notes on Daphne's World

**Hey there! _(_** _awkward waving)_

Welcome to the Daphne's Version of the world. It includes werewolves, teenage romance and a whole lot of drama.

Right, I should probably explain a few things:

**On Writing:**

So, this idea has been in my head for the better part of three years in a whole lot of different iterations.

And I figured, life is short, so I should probably just get going.

English isn't my mother tongue, so I am doing my best to catch all grammar and spelling mistakes, but I take any hints you are willing to give me;)

**About The Story:**

Most werewolf stories that I have read do not portray the healthiest relationship with the healthiest boundaries, and that's going to be a bit different here (well, hopefully).

(We are not going to have some possessive alpha that seemingly hates his mate, treats her badly and doesn't take her seriously, only to then throw her against a wall and have his way with her. I draw the line at people throwing other people against a wall. Seriously.)

This story is mostly about Healing.

That's the whole point.

It's about Daphne coming to terms with her new reality, working through things in a healthy way and finding her way to a happier, more content future.

I do write a whole of fluff, so it's probably not going to be the plot heaviest story, just warning. So if you want to read some epic adventure, this will not be the story for you.

**The Fictional World:**

[](https://ibb.co/Vjgh0Jg)

Fairbury is not a real town, just FYI. I modelled it after several coastal towns in Maine and it's around 1 hour away from Augusta, Maine. (I am terrible in Geography, so that's a warning I am going to give.)

Werewolves exist _(duh. Otherwise I would have no story to write.)_ , but are secret. The whole "killing with silver thing" actually does work, but we are going to explore that a bit later.

Warnings:

I am going to warn to non-graphic child abuse and the mention of suicide, as well as non-graphic but mentioned substance and alcohol abuse.

If you catch something while reading the story that I should warn for, shoot me a message. Please. I don't want to upset anybody. I write this story for me and put it up for other people to enjoy and triggering people is not fun.

_**I think that's it!** _

Just shoot me a message if there is anything else you want to know, or think I should add.

xoxo C.


	2. Cast

A few pictures of who I am imagining to portray my characters. New Characters will be added whenever a new character is introduced, or I am suddenly thinking of the perfect person to portray one of my characters.

  
[ ](https://ibb.co/C8hG0ZS)   
[ ](https://ibb.co/NYtYHTL)

  
  
[ ](https://ibb.co/wLx8v5d)


	3. Prologue

_To love or have loved  
that is enough.  
Ask nothing further.  
There is no other pearl   
to be found in the  
dark folds of life._

**_Victor Hugo_ **

It was nearly 10 at night when Daphne finally reached the door to the apartment she and her mother shared.

She was miserable. Her back felt like it was on fire, every move hurt and spending 17 hours on her feet hadn't helped at all.

She was greeted by a white envelope taped to the door and she knew what that meant.

_Another_ eviction notice.

She opened it, her eyes flying over the lines. Her mother hadn't paid the rent for _3 months_?

They lived in the outskirts of NYC in a beaten-down house where the tenants seemed to change quicker than the weather did.

It had been the last apartment in a long line of them and Daphne needed to close her eyes for a moment.

3 months worth of rent that were, what, 1500 dollars?

Summer was over, Daphne having spent it working 13 hours a day at a diner and a bookshop, sometimes a bar. It was ridiculous that they had even let her do that. She was only 16, a high school junior now, but a fake ID and copious amounts of Make-up had helped with that.

Daphne didn't enjoy the lies that she needed to tell at all. She had grown used to them though.

Lie after lie, everything so that she could explain away the bruises and the pain, could explain away the drugs and the empty bottle of alcohol that littered the house.

Lie after lie.

She had kept more than half of the money carefully stashed away under a loose floorboard in her closet.

Even during one of her drunk rants, her mother wouldn't actually crawl through Daphne's closet and rip out the very last floorboard. At least it had worked for the last year and a half.

Daphne could just hope that there was enough money under that floorboard to pay the rent. And if there wasn't...she would need to raid what little she actually kept in her college fund.

She pushed down the tears that wanted to overcome her and she wondered another time why she was even bothering anymore.

She was just so tired.

She was as quiet as she could be as she entered the apartment she and her mother shared. She could smell then the stench of alcohol as she slipped off her backpack and then pulled off her coat and carefully hung it up at the door. Then she took off the beaten up converse that had already seen much better days.

To their defence, it should be said that Daphne wore them near-daily and had done so for the last 4 years.

She had bought them from some of the birthday money that her aunt and uncle had sent her that year.

She couldn't help but smile as she thought about her aunt and uncle. While Daphne hadn't seen them in years (the last time had been when she had been 14 and her mother had sent her to Maine for a week over the summer), they still stayed in contact. At least as well as it worked.

They emailed mostly because that was the easiest way for Daphne. Texting was impossible since her mother had thrown her phone out of the window after another one of her drunken tirades.

As hungry as Daphne was, she didn't bother to go into the kitchen. There would be nothing edible in there. She had bought ramen noodles last week but her mother would have probably already eaten them. And if they were already eaten...

As quietly as she could she stepped into the living room. The light was on in the small living room and she couldn't help but sigh. They really didn't have the money to pay for the electricity bill either.

Her mother was on the couch, the tv screen showing some soap opera.

Daphne wouldn't remember much of that night for the rest of her life.

She would however always remember that moment. She took the threadbare blanket from the back of the couch, wanting to put it over her mother and then stopped because Michelle's body was still.

Unnaturally still.

Her chest didn't rise and fall in the rhythm of her breath. There didn't come a single noise from her mother like it usually did, even when she was knocked out from alcohol and whatever drugs she could find.

What Daphne didn't remember was the rest of that night.

Later she was told, that she had called emergency services with her mother's phone. She had done CPR and frantically tried to restart her mother's heart.

She didn't remember when emergency services arrived.

She didn't remember when her mother was pronounced dead on the scene.

She must have been dead for hours, Daphne was later told.

The police came and asked questions to which Daphne didn't know the answer.

_Did her mother drink a lot?_

Well yes. Michelle drunk a lot.

Had drunk a lot since Daphne could think.

And Daphne had learnt early one to never say anything about that.

Alcohol seemed to be the most important thing in Michelle's life. Daphne had been unable to do anything against it. The one time she had tried to take away her mother's bottles...it hadn't exactly ended well for her.

So Daphne had learned to live with it. What else had she been supposed to do? There wasn't any family near her and she didn't exactly have friends either.

She had learned to hide it. Most people didn't look further behind the facade when it was presented in a way that it seemed completely and utterly normal and unremarkable.

_Where had the pills come from?_

She could just shrug at that. Had it been pills that evening? Most of the time it had been crack.

Daphne had seen her mother do that since she could think as well. She had thought it to be normal, for god's sake. Until there had been the whole ' _drugs are bad_ ' push in middle school.

Then she had learned that the white powder her mother used, wasn't exactly good for you.

She had wanted to tell people over the years. Of course, she had wanted to do that.

But she had been too scared.

She had been used to be the one that took care of her mother and if she didn't do that, then who was going to take care of Michelle?

_Did she have any relatives?_

Her mother had a sister. Aunt Caroline, who was married to Uncle Matthew and they had a son a bit older than Daphne. Oliver, that was his name. They did always sent her Christmas and birthday presents and her mother had used to ship her off to them a few times in the summer.

They still lived in the same small town in Maine, in which her mother and aunt had grown up in. Middleton, that was the name. Uncle Matthew was the town doctor. Aunt Caroline worked as a primary school teacher a few days a week.

Daphne's mother had had a few jobs but seemed unable to hold one down.

Michelle had once been an artist. Daphne could remember how when she had still been really, really small, her mother had used to paint a lot. That was also where Daphne's own affinity with paint had come from.

But Michelle's hands had developed a tremor and most of her pictures had been unrecognisable by the time Daphne had been 12.

The social services arrived then, expecting Daphne to pack up her whole life in two garbage bags.

It was probably a bad sign that that was actually the easy part.

Daphne didn't own a lot. Her mother had pawned off everything that she could only so that they had some money.

All of the clothing she had filled one trash bag. Most of it was old now, too old, threadbare in places and having holes in others. Most of it also was too short and too tight by now.

Still, she had packed it, had taken all of the money she had kept stashed away, and had then tried her best to hide her money in various places in the garbage bag and her backpack.

And then she had left that apartment behind. 


	4. Chapter 1

_Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts._

_**Charles Dickens** _

They were truly having far too much fun trying to find the chewing toys that his father had hid all around the forest. 

Normally they did it for the younger members of the pack, for the primary school-aged kids, so that they would have their first experiences with tracking the scents of other werewolves. 

Didn't mean that High School Students couldn't have fun with it as well. _(At least Luke liked to tell himself that.)_

Again Luke sniffed at the tree, trying to figure out the differing scents. He could easily pick out his father's but as he went south he realised that it got weaker. 

Had his father doubled back towards the beach? 

Apparently yes. 

Luke fell into a jog, all four paws hitting the ground near silently. It was already getting darker around them earlier. Christmas would be coming in just a few months and the summer was officially over. In a few weeks, even they wouldn't try to swim in the ocean anymore. It would be too cold for them. 

Werewolves tended to run a few degrees hotter than normal humans. Not much, but enough that they could actually go swimming in the ocean in Fairbury while most humans only did it on a bet or on one the few hot days of a year that they had. 

He could hear Ollie trying to break up one of the brawls that had broken out between the cubs back in the forest and then jumped up the rocky shore so that he could go back into his backyard. 

The scent of his father, warm and heavy still was there, not a surprise as he lived there. Luke could smell an older trace though and that was the one that he followed until he saw a bright blue plastic bone stick out between two of the rocks. 

He picked it up with his mouth and then jumped back down to the beach again. 

Breaking out in a run, he entered the forest again, jumping over the small river that cut through it. 

_*Did you find one?*_ his twin wanted to know and he turned towards Grace. While he was deep black, not a single white fleck anywhere, his sister was a deep russet brown, with black tinged ears and paws. She was thinner and a bit smaller as him as well, as it was normal for females werewolves. 

_*I did.*_ He gave back mentally and then let the bone fall to the forest ground. * _Did Oliver break up the squabble?_ *

 _*If you want to call it like that,*_ Grace answered, sounding amused and he watched as a group of the younger wolves came running towards them. 

Oliver also came trotting along, deep brown, darker than Grace was. 

_*It's like herding kittens,*_ he commented to Luke and Luke couldn't help but laugh. 

_*It's like herding wolf cubs,*_ Luke deadpanned, resulting in a shove from his best friend. Luke shoved right back, careful to keep it friendly ribbing and not actually put all his strength behind it. By now he was easily 5 inches bigger than Ollie and Luke knew that if he put all his strength behind it, he could seriously injure even other wolves. 

Ollie just gave a high whine and then hid behind his mate, Grace rolling her eyes, well used to their antics by now.

It had been clear that Ollie and Grace were mates since Luke could think, but it had really changed over the last few years when puberty had set in. 

And while puberty was hell for a normal person, for werewolves it was even worse. Hormones and animals instinct were piled on top of the normal stuff and Luke really couldn't wait until all of that finally settled down at least some. 

Or as Oliver had once called it: They were a bundle of testosterone, inappropriate erections, and low impulse control. 

Ollie and Grace were mates that had very much grown up around each other. Everybody knew everybody in Fairbury. It was as nice as it could be infuriating. 

Just as his sister and his best friend could be. Luke loved both of them, of course, he did. But even he needed a pause from their ridiculous lovesick behaviour sometimes, and he also didn't need to see the two of them making out. He drew the line there. 

Seeing them together was also a heavy reminder that they had what he didn't have. Luke had a few girlfriends, some of them human, some of them not, and none of them had ever been anything more than something to scratch an itch. He had been honest with them about that though. Very honest. 

He hadn't always been able to stop them from getting attached, but he had never with any of them felt like they were compatible in the slightest. 

_*Alright, Alright, settle down everybody.*_ Their father came trotting towards them, through the forest, a big dark grey wolf. The whole alpha thing seemed to radiate from him and even the cubs knew that it was better to listen to him. 

Most of them weren't exactly good at listening to orders yet and the whole 'still very much listening to their instincts' meant that it could happen that they suddenly decide to start hunting rabbits if the mood struck them. At least the rabbit colonies never got out of control on their land, he mused and his sister laughed, which probably meant that he had accidentally thought it loud enough for her to hear. 

Wolves were able to communicate telepathically while shifted with other shifted werewolves that was a skill that actually needed to be trained. 

Keeping thoughts private was difficult as was just sharing them with one single person. It was far easier to just send them to the collective of the pack but that could get noisy very far and they all tried to respect each other's privacy. 

There was also the bond he and Grace shared, as they were littermates. They were twins and as that their communication went a lot easier and smoother than for most other were's, maybe apart from mates. That was another quirk of wolves. 

_*You all did a great job this evening,*_ he told them lightly before he turned towards Luke, Grace and Ollie. 

_*Ollie, your parents are waiting at the house for you. Luke, Grace, you two go back as well,*_ he told them, a tone in his voice telling all of them that it wasn't up to discussion. 

This wasn't good. 

_*Any idea what that is about?*_ Luke asked Grace and Ollie as their father turned back to the house and broke out in a run. 

_*I have no idea. I didn't do anything.*_ Ollie gave back, sounding defensive and Luke couldn't help himself but huff. Ollie never did anything. Cue the _sarcasm_. 

_*Neither did we.*_ His sister huffed and broke out in a run. 

She was faster than both him and Oliver and he and Ollie hung back to allow her to shift and get dressed in privacy. 

They reached the house a few minutes later, shifting back to their human forms. It was as easy as breathing by now for them, the shift rippling over their body quickly and easily without a second thought. It took years to get to that point for everybody but as both Luke and Grace had changed for the first time when they hadn't even been a year old, it was a lot easier for them as it was for people that changed later in life. 

The later they shifted the first time, the more problems they had adjusting to their new world. 

Because that was what it was. 

A new world. 

Their eyesight was better, their sense of smell grew stronger. All of their senses were stronger than the one of a "normal" person. 

He pulled over his shirt over his head, slipped on his jeans and then waited for Ollie to finish pulling his shirt over his head before they headed inside.

He discerned the people in the room quickly. His mother was sitting on one of the plush couches, being joined by Grace, while Ollie's parents, Caroline and Matthew were sharing the other couch. 

He could smell that something was wrong immediately. The salty taste of tears hung in the air but there was something else, something pulsing around Caroline that he couldn't quite place. 

"Mom, what's wrong?" His friend asked as soon as he entered the room behind Luke and Luke stood behind his mother. 

"Sit down, Ollie," Matthew said softly and Oliver listed immediately, sitting down next to Grace. 

Luke saw the expression on his face and couldn't help but swallow. Whatever happened, it wasn't good. 

"What happened? Did somebody die?" Oliver asked, trying for amusement and failing spectacularly. Luke felt the subtle shift in the room.

He watched Caroline close her eyes for a moment, opening them again and Luke could see how they brimmed with tears. "Your aunt." She finally answered.

"Aunt Sarah?" Oliver asked, his voice breaking and Luke needed to swallow again. Matthew's sister lived in Los Angeles and only came down to Maine every few years, but she was nice. 

But Caroline shook her head and Luke felt a bit of pressure fall off. At least until he remembered that Ollie's aunt had died. 

"No. Michelle, my sister," Caroline answered quietly. "Daphne found her two days ago."

"Daphne?" Ollie voiced the question Luke had as well. Who was Daphne?

"Her daughter, your cousin?" Caroline asked but Ollie just shook his head. 

"No, I remember her, mom. I just...she found her own mother's dead body!" Oliver spit out and Luke needed to swallow when he imagined himself finding...

God. 

"What happens now?" Oliver asked and Luke looked up again to see that his best friend and crossed his arms and was looking expectantly at his parents. 

"I got a call from social services this afternoon. We are the only relatives Daphne still has so we will be granted emergency custody." Matthews said calmly. 

"So she is coming to live with us?" Ollie asked to clarify and Luke was surprised at that. Not a lot of people moved to Fairbury. It would probably be half a sensation in the small town. 

"That's the plan," Matthew answered with a sad smile. "Are you okay with that, Ollie?"

"She is family. Of course, I am okay with it. She is going to need us around her. She doesn't have anybody else," Ollie huffed. 

"What's with her father?" Luke's mother asked and Caroline's only reaction was a shake of her head. "Did you talk to Daphne?" Oliver asked and Caroline shook her head. 

"No, not yet. I am going to fly over to New York on Monday morning and bring her back in the evening. 

"How old is she?" Grace asked suddenly and Caroline looked at her. 

"16 now, a few months younger than all of you. She will be a junior with you though."

"She won't be alone at school at first. We figure something out. Between the three of them, there should be someone in every one of her classes." Luke said quietly. They could at least do that for the girl. Give her something to fall back on. "I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Luke. It...I am not exactly surprised." Caroline said and rubbed over her face. She looked more exhausted and older than he had ever seen her before. Normally Caroline was always the person that was so full of energy, so full of life. "She took alcohol and sleeping pills."

"It was a suicide?" His mother asked nearly shocked. 

Suicide...that was incredibly rare for their kind. Not unheard of, but it didn't happen often at all. Werewolves dealt well with Trauma, much better than humans. There was a reason why so many Wolves found their way into some kind of law enforcement or the military. Their kind could deal with death and violence so much better than most. 

"They are classifying it as one. I don't know if she actually killed herself or if she just didn't care. I...I never saw her shift since she moved to New York...I saw her the last time nearly 8 years ago and then she was already...she already smelled nearly dormant to me. I tried to get her to let me help her, but she wasn't having it. I hoped she would get better, but clearly...clearly that didn't happen," Caroline whispered. She buried her head in her hands, her mate laying his arm around her shoulders, trying to offer comfort, but Luke could see that right now...right now even that didn't help. 

"Caroline, Daphne never told you that...that there was a problem. You didn't know," Mathew tried to console his wife. 

"I should have known!" It suddenly burst out of Caroline and Luke felt like he was watching something he shouldn't. "She was my sister, Matt." 

"I should have done more. I should have done something," Caroline whispered. . "Daphne is the one who dealt with all of that...I don't want to know how bad it really was."

"And now Michelle is dead and left her only child behind," Caroline said and Luke could just swallow at that. 

*****

The news had broken out over the pack quickly and quietly and the next day, everybody knew about it. 

The gossip was already circulating and while Luke was used to it and knew that most people didn't mean any harm with it, it was still grating on his nerves. 

Didn't that girl have enough problems without adding the unnecessary gossip from half of the pack and the rest of Fairbury on it?

Apparently not. 

Normally they spent Saturday either with friends, in the summer oftentimes having pack barbecues or their father ended up making them help at some home renovation project. 

_(Apparently, he didn't have enough of that under the week. Their family owned the largest construction business in the state and while his father spent most of the week in the office and not really at the actual building sites, on the weekends he liked to get his hands dirty.)_

_(That also oftentimes ended with him deciding on Friday evening to rip down a wall in their house. They had all learned to live with that and to just go one with their lives. The wall was back standing on Monday. Two inches to the right.)_

So it probably shouldn't have surprised that his father had decided that that weekend project was apparently the guest bedroom of Oliver's parents that was earmarked to be Daphne's future room.

Caroline and Matthew were just too happy to accept the help and so they spent the weekend there. 

The parental units went to the hardware and furniture store, picking out paint colours, buying a bed and doing god knows what else. 

Daphne's future bedroom had been used as a storage room more than anything in the last few years. It went out to the back, overlooking the beach and the ocean. It was a nice room, big enough to house everything she may need. 

Only getting out all the stuff that had been kept in that room took the whole morning. They unearthed a myriad of things nobody seemed to remember where they had come from, including a broken lamp, a whole box filled with Oliver's artistic pursuit during Kindergarten and lots and lots of other knickknacks that nobody needed. 

After the room was cleared out they actually had a much clearer look at what they needed. 

They painted the room white, figuring out that Daphne maybe would want to pick out her own colour. The white was a good starting point then, she would be able to paint whatever colour she wanted over it. 

They sealed the floor and then spent the whole Sunday assembling furniture that Caroline and Matthew had bought and trying there best to make the room seem inviting for somebody new there. 

"I can't remember ever meeting her," his sister commented idly, screwing in one of the legs of the night table and Luke shrugged from his place on the ladder where he was doing his best to replace the light fixture with something that looked less like it had been once been trendy in the 70s. 

"Neither can I," he gave back, finally figuring it out and screwing it down. 

"You didn't." Oliver gave back, where he was fighting with the closet door. It didn't seem to want to close correctly, so Oliver was checking out the hinges and screwing them back down. "She used to come visit us a handful of times when we were younger, but mostly during Fall break or Summer and you were always with your grandparents. And I remember that Mom tried to keep her away from most of the pack. She is very much human." 

Luke couldn't help but pull a face at that. "That won't work out anymore." He said calmly. "Keeping her away from the pack."

While keeping their entire species a secret was important...there were some things that you just couldn't keep a secret. And that was one of them. 

"She is a member of your family. Keeping that a secret of her..." Luke just shook his head and climbed down from the ladder. "She will probably find out one way or another." And he would really prefer her to find out in a controlled environment and not because somebody decided to wolf out at her.

"Luke is right. When the time comes, we will need to explain it to her." His sister agreed and Luke walked over to Oliver, holding the door in place so that he would have an easier time screwing the hinge down. 

"How do you explain that to her?" Oliver huffed. "Hi, I am a werewolf. The whole horror stories you heard probably aren't true. Well, we do bite people. But only if they want it! And the whole full moon thing is all lies!"

Luke couldn't help but chuckle at that. 

"We should look through the barn...maybe we can find something for her room there," Grace commented. 

Grace did find an old chest of drawers in the barn _(That was what they nicknamed the building their father kept old furniture in that he either restored or finally threw away.)_ that Luke lugged down the road to Ollie's house. Grace dusted it off and oiled it until the dark wood shone again. It found a place on the wall next to the door and Grace also found an antique silver mirror to go with it. 

They assembled the bed and then had a pillow fight before they actually got the bedding on the bed. 

A bookcase and a chair were added as well. 

They finished it on Sunday evening, then getting takeout and all of them scarfing town the better part of two pizzas each.

She had somewhere to come home to. And that was a good thing. 


	5. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne goes to Fairbury and also meets up with her family.

_Grief is the last act of love we have to give to those who loved. Where there is deep grief, there was great love._

**_Anonymous_ **

She felt like she was in a glass box.

People were talking and nothing seemed to reach her.

Daphne just felt… empty. She wondered if that was normal. She had no idea.

Was it normal that it felt like she had no emotions anymore? Her body seemed to be a separate entity from her mind. Her body went through the days, doing whatever she was told to do and her mind just shut off.

Feeling were nonexistent.

She just wasn’t feeling anything.

Either bad or good.

It took them three days. Three days spent in two different foster families, until they got hold of her aunt. Daphne didn’t know what made it take that long nor did she care to find out.

She existed in her vacuum.

They had sent her to a therapist once. That Therapist told her for two hours that every human reacted differently to grief and that there was no right or wrong way to feel.

Was it right to feel nothing though? Nothing at all?

When they finally found her aunt, Daphne got to talk to her for around 5 minutes.

“Daphne.” Her aunt’s voice was soft, tinny on the phone and a lot of other things. Daphne could hear the grief, could hear the pain and the sadness and she needed to close her eyes for a second, a stabbing pain in her chest suddenly.

“Aunt Caroline,” she finally brought out, brokenly. That was a good description of how she felt.

Broken.

Shattered in a thousand different pieces, not even really human anymore. She didn’t feel like a whole person.

“Oh honey, I am so, so sorry,” her aunt apologised softly. “I am coming to get you on Monday. I would be there earlier but the flights were all booked up, I am sorry.”

It felt like a punch to her stomach and at the same time, it felt like a huge boulder was lifted from her shoulders. She had somewhere to go.

“You are staying with Matthew, Ollie and me. We figure this out, honey, I promise you that,” her aunt promised her, and now she couldn’t help the tears from running over her cheeks.

She was getting to stay with her aunt and uncle. She had somewhere to go. She didn’t need to stay here.

“Thank you,” Daphne brought out, the words lacking for the amount of gratitude she felt.

“I see you on Monday, okay?” Her aunt told her softly and she nodded before she remembered that her aunt wouldn't be able to see her.

“Thank you,” Daphne whispered again.

“Of course, Daphne. We love you. Take Care,” Her aunt told her softly and then the phone call ended.

*****

The days until Monday seemed to melt together. They seemed to stretch on endless but also felt like just a blink of time had passed since her mother’s death.

Most of the days, she laid on that bunk bed in the room that she shared with two other girls, not moving. She was left in peace most of the times, the sound of new york city filtering through the window.

Life went on regardless.

Life went on even when Daphne felt like everything had been ripped from her.

For the outside world, her mother’s death wasn’t as much as a blink. Nobody cared that she had died, besides Daphne and her aunt. No employer, not since her mother had gotten fired from the last job in a long line a few days ago. Maybe the guy from the liquor store. He probably would miss her. Or maybe her dealer.

The irony of that wasn’t lost on Daphne.

She laid on that bunk bed, curled up on her side, her eyes closed, unmoving. She didn’t want to stay here.

Another fight was breaking out, the foster father once again trying his best to hold his own against one of the girls that Daphne shared a room with. Her name was Nathalie. She had been wholly unimpressed of needing to share a room with Daphne and had the habit of losing her temper about every tiny thing.

Just like right now. Her shrill voice became louder and Daphne buried her head in the lumpy pillow.

She didn’t want to stay there any longer.

Caroline promised to come and get her. Daphne was going to move to Fairbury, Maine.

Hopefully, there wouldn’t be screaming.

Hopefully, it was going to be different.

It didn’t have the MET, it wouldn’t have any skyscrapers, the only thing that town had as far as Daphne could remember was a Diner and an ice cream parlour that also was an Italian restaurant.

But she would have somewhere to go, somewhere to sleep, maybe a room to close the door behind her and go hide in a corner. She could go to school and there would be no need to hide another bottle of whiskey somewhere her mother hopefully wouldn’t find it.

The weekend passed slowly but finally, it was Monday Morning. She took the two garbage bags that held all her possessions and she waited for her aunt, her case worker from the social services at her side.

Mrs Jenkins was her name. She was nice, even when she was overworked and stared at her watch all the time.

Daphne just waited.

Again, Mrs Jenkins sighed, looking at her watch and Daphne didn’t bother to look up, staring at her hands.

She was a package that was supposed to be given to the receiver and the receiver hadn’t bothered to show up yet, which seemed to infuriate Mrs Jenkins. Mrs Jenkins continued to glare daggers at Daphne like she would be able to change it.

Still, the longer they waited, the bigger the pit in her stomach grew. What if her aunt and uncle had overthought the whole thing and decided that Daphne wasn’t worth the hassle? What then?

Daphne leaned back in her chair gingerly, careful not to put too much pressure on it. Her back still hurt whenever she took a deep breath, the skin angry red, at least what she had seen that morning in the small mirror in the bathroom back at her foster home. There wasn’t exactly a lot that she could do against it.

Normally, it would have already stopped hurting that much. Not this time.

Maybe it kept on hurting because these were the last scars her mother was ever going to give her.

And then finally, finally the door opened and her head snapped up. Her aunt entered the room, in all her blonde, blue-eyed glory. Once upon a time she and Michelle must have resembled each other. Now they didn’t anymore.

On Michelle years of alcohol and drug use had taken their toll. Daphne’s mother had used to look far older than she had actually been, something that she didn’t like at all.

Caroline looked younger than she was, a carefree smile nearly always on her face, her bright blue eyes sparkling with life. She did look a bit older than the last time Daphne had seen her, but not much at all. Her blonde ponytail now had a few more silver hairs running through it, and maybe they were a few more wrinkles around her eyes.

“Daphne,” That was the only thing her aunt said before suddenly Daphne was pulled in a hug, her whole body cramping up. She couldn’t help it.

There was pain coursing through her back, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care, because her aunt’s hug was nearly maternal in a way. Daphne tucked her head against her neck and took a shuddering breath, her emotions wanting to overwhelm her.

The tears were biting in her eyes and she made a soft whimper as her aunt rubbed over her back.

“I am so, so sorry, honey,” Her aunt whispered then and Daphne could just nod.

She wondered briefly how Caroline did this. Daphne had lost her mother but her aunt had also lost her sister. And still, Caroline was trying to comfort her.

Her aunt let her go then, turning to Mrs Jenkins.

Daphne could only listen with half an ear as her aunt signed whatever she needed to sign.

But then it was done. Mrs Jenkins rushing out of the room to her next appointment without so much as a goodbye and Daphne was left with her aunt.

Caroline just clucked her tongue at that, before she turned to Daphne again. “We are flying back to Maine this afternoon.”

“I…I already arranged the transfer of…of your mom,” she continued, stumbling over the words. Daphne just nodded.

Right. The body needed to be buried. That just seemed…unreal. But it made sense. They couldn’t just…leave it here. It needed a place to rest.

“There will be a funeral next Saturday. She will have a place in the family plot,” Caroline continued. “We’ll…we’ll take care of it.”

She reached out to touch Daphne’s head and she couldn’t help but flinch at that. Her aunt stopped, letting her hand fall back to the side, but she put a smile on her face that Daphne knew was only for her benefit.

“Did you get everything you wanted from the apartment?” Caroline asked and Daphne bit her lip at that. Great.

“We…had an eviction notice at the door. I packed everything apart from…from the kitchen stuff. I took Michelle’s things as well,” she brought out hesitantly, expecting her aunt’s anger but Caroline just looked at her and then hugged her tightly.

“God, honey, why didn’t you say something?” Caroline whispered, hugging her tightly and Daphne couldn’t help but soak up whatever attention she could get in that moment.

“Let’s get your things packed up then, alright?” Caroline said and Daphne nodded her agreement as her aunt let her go

“I brought three suitcases with me, I hope that’s enough. We can get the rest shipped though, that should be…” Her aunt trailed off when she caught the two black garbage bags that Daphne had leaned against the chair.

“Is that all?”

Daphne just nodded.

“Oh honey,” her aunt breathed out, reaching out to tug a piece of Daphne’s hair behind her ear, and Daphne let her.

She just wanted to go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Somewhere where she didn’t need to explain her life to anybody, not even Caroline, not even when Caroline was so damn understanding about it all.

“You are probably going to need some new winter things, Fairbury gets cold in winter. We’ll make a girls day out of it,” her aunt decided. “We should get our first frost in a few weeks so we should do that soon. We’ll…take care of that, alright?” Caroline babbled and Daphne just nodded her agreement.

They fit the two garbage bags easily into the luggage Caroline brought with room left over and then made their way to the airport.

She was bone tired and just wanted to curl herself up on a bed and sleep for 24 hours straight. For once, she felt like she actually would be able to sleep once she saw the next flat surface.

They had lunch at a small Italian restaurant and while it was the best thing Daphne could remember to have eaten in months, if not years, she couldn’t enjoy it.

Daphne couldn’t even remember she actually had a sit down meal with someone else.

Well, there was school lunch….but as she was mostly known as the weird girl that didn’t have any friends and spent most of her time drawing, her classmates weren’t that interested to spent time with her.

Caroline was doing her best to fill the silence with senseless chattering, about everything and anything. Daphne did her best to listen, but it seemed that every blinking of her eyes took too much effort.

“Ollie said he would show you around. You are in the same year at school so that shouldn’t be much of a problem. And his…girlfriend and her brother are there as well. Their names are Grace and Luke,” Caroline told her.

Great. Her cousin needed to play her babysitter. Daphne somehow didn’t think that her cousin would enjoy that very much. And he would probably already hate her enough, without her trailing behind him like a puppy.

She had always liked Ollie, at least the few times they had met. He had been just as blonde as her, only a few months older, around two heads taller though and he had always laughed.

He had been pretty funny, at least as far as she could remember.

“I don’t think you have met them before…” Her aunt continued. “And I am sure Ollie can introduce you to some other people as well. He knows pretty much everybody.”

“Is he angry?” Daphne finally dared to ask.

She didn’t want to make him angry. She had enough of anger.

“Who? Ollie?” Her aunt asked surprised and stared at her. “Daphne, why should he be angry?”

“Because he was always an only child, and now I am coming to live with you and I know it’s not the same thing as a sibling at all, but…” she started to blubber but her aunt just shook her head.

“But nothing. Ollie is looking forward to it actually,” her aunt cut her off gently. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Ollie, Luke and Grace went a bit crazy in your room over the weekend,” Her aunt told her amused. “They just painted the walls white and we got you a bed and a dresser. You still need a desk, I think. You can change it up however you want though.”

“Thank you,” Daphne whispered, touched by that gesture. She had somewhere to come home to. A room to call her own.

“You look tired,” her aunt commented and she could just shrug

“I haven’t slept since…” Since her mother died. She couldn’t bring the words over her lips though.

“It’s a one and a half hour flight. We need to drive home for an hour but then you can go to take a nap if you want to,” her aunt suggested and their flight was called. With the bags already checked in Daphne only kept hold of her school bag.

“Ollie should still at school, he has football practice,” Caroline told her and Daphne filed that information away.

“Let me guess, he is the quarterback?” Daphne asked amusedly. That would hit every cliché.

“No, that’s Luke,” her aunt laughed. “His girlfriend is the head cheerleader though.”

“Grace is looking forward to meeting you. She could use another girl to fight back against y-chromosome induced stupidity as she calls it.”

*****

She didn’t take a nap during the flight, even when she was tired. But alone the thought about needing to wake up again in just an hour or so was terrible.

She leaned back down gingerly against her seat, staring out of the window.

It was nearly too easy to leave New York behind. Daphne had grown up there, it was supposed to be home. And at that moment she just could just stare out of the window, completely and utterly exhausted.

Caroline took her hand, gently pressing it and Daphne looked over to her aunt, doing her best to put a smile on her face. It didn’t work, not really, but at least she tried.

The flight didn’t take long and soon they touched down in Augusta, Maine.

As soon as Daphne stepped out of the plane, she felt the difference.

The air was bitingly cold and a lot more rural than what she was used to. No smog from a big town was there. The air was far cleaner.

And a small part of Daphne…that calmed down as soon as she breathed in air. It felt like coming home in a weird way.

The exhaustion set in when she was sitting in the warmth of Caroline’s Jeep that she had needed to nearly climb into. Apparently, a 4 wheel drive was needed around these parts.

She couldn’t help but nod off, startling awake because Caroline hit a pothole and a sharp pain run down her spine.

Daphne had learned a long time ago to be quiet.

The pain only resulted in a slight hitch in her breath as she blinked open her eyes and then saw a big red house.

“We are there,” Caroline told her with a wry smile and Daphne could just smile back.“We moved a few years ago…We wanted something nearer to the beach,” Caroline told her, as they got out of the car and as Daphne listened she could hear the waves.

Where was there a beach?

“You can’t see it, it’s around the back of the house,” Caroline said like she had read her mind. “Our next neighbours are the Schuyler's, Cecilia and Stephen to the left and to the right, you get to the main street after a few minutes.”

Daphne got two of her suitcases, her back protesting and Caroline got the third one.

Two steps lead up to the front door and Daphne followed Caroline, who opened the big door, letting her keys fall into a bowl on top of a dresser.

“Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room are all downstairs…my office as well, Matthew’s is upstairs,” her aunt explained. “Let's go to your room,” her aunt said and then started to climb up the staircase.

The house was old, Daphne could see that in all the wood that had been lovingly refinished.

The walls were creamy yellow in the hallways and she followed her aunt upstairs, lovingly touching the satiny feeling wood on the stair railing.

Her aunt went to one of the old wood doors leading to the back of the house and held it open for Daphne.

The room was bigger than any of her rooms in new York City had been. Most of the time it had been a lucky shot if she actually got her own room. She could still remember the time when she had slept in the closet for over six months. The last apartment thankfully had a small room for her, but it wasn’t big enough to fit anything but her bed.

Across from the door, was a huge window, out to the back of the property. It showed the back garden and behind the back garden, was the beach. Daphne could see the waves slowly lapping at the sand and hear the sound of the waves breaking at the shore. It was relaxing, a stark contrast to the sound of cars and people screaming.

The room itself was painted in a bright white, clinically.Daphne couldn’t care less though. A big bed stood next to the door, a night table next to it. There was an antique chest of drawers with a just as antique silver mirror above it, which was absolutely beautiful.

And the best part: It was hers.

“You can change it to however you want it, honey,” her aunt told her, sounding worried. “We can visit the hardware store tomorrow.”

“I love it. Thank you,” Daphne brought out. She wanted to say something else, wanted to say something that was going to make it obvious how thankful she was about this, but she couldn’t.

“Of course,” her aunt said with a smile. “Why don’t you take a shower and a nap and I come get you when Matthew and Ollie have come home?”

Her aunt left her alone in her room, and Daphne went in search of the bathroom. There were three doors going off her room, one to the closet, one to the hall, and the third was to her bathroom.

Daphne had her own bathroom. That was…weird.

It had everything she could possibly want, shampoo and soap already in the shower and a toothbrush and toothpaste waiting for.

She took a shower, biting her teeth as the water burned her back and the blood went down the drain. Had it split open again?

There wasn’t much what she could do against it. She dried off, managing to not get blood all over the towels and then put on a tank top underneath a long-sleeved top, knowing that the extra layer of fabric would soak up most of the blood without it showing on the outside.

The bed was calling to her then and she slipped in the bed, curling up on her side. It was soft and warm and it took less than thirty seconds for her to fall asleep.

She was safe.

***

Daphne woke up with the sound of the door opening. She still was tired, her brain felt sluggish and she looked up to her aunt that came to sit at the edge of her bed

“Daphne? Do you want to come for dinner?” Caroline asked her softly and she nodded, moving to sit up, already dreading to need to leave the warm bed. “Have you slept some?”

“Yes, I did,” Daphne brought out, interrupted with a yawn, that made Caroline chuckle.

“Matt and Ollie are downstairs,” her aunt explained and Daphne nodded her agreement, moving to get out of the bed.

Caroline moved as well, putting an arm around her waist as they went downstairs. Daphne could smell something being cooked in the kitchen, meat and something else and she could hear the voices.

“Daphne,” her uncle saw her first, brown-haired, brown eyes, looking more like a bear than anything else, and coming towards her to hug her tightly.

“Uncle Matt,” she greeted him with a smile.

“I am sorry,” he told her softly and she nodded, unable to say anything else.

“Hey, don’t hog her, dad,” her cousin yested amused and Daphne turned to him. They still shared the same blonde hair but he was easily towering over her by now.

“Haven’t had a growth spurt yet, have you?” He teased her good-naturedly and Daphne couldn’t help but giggle as Caroline’s “Oliver Matthew!” was drowned out by her cousin leaning down to hug her as well.

To be honest Daphne didn’t think that that growth spurt was going to hit her any time soon. She was 5 feet on her socked feet and had been since her freshman year.

“Not everybody can be as tall as you are,” she gave back, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

He laughed at that, letting her go.

“Let’s have dinner before it gets cold,” Caroline sighed long sufferingly but smiled and Daphne found a seat at the table, between Caroline and Oliver.

They had steak for dinner with baked potatoes, and Daphne watched in fascination how her cousin managed to finish three servings. Where was he putting that?

“I’ll need to go to Augusta tomorrow, we need some groceries, and Daphne needs a thicker coat for around here,” her aunt started.

Daphne was already feeling terrible enough about all her family was doing to her. She didn’t need a new coat on top of that. She was fine with the old one she had. Granted it had no lining to speak of anymore but it was fine.

“I am fine, really, you don’t need to…” she tried to protest but her uncle didn’t let her.

“You need something more substantial than your hoodie around here. The cold will set in in a few weeks. And then it’s probably going to stay snowy until February,” he told her. “It’s already October.”

She just nodded at that, not daring to protest again.

“We have a meeting in the school on Wednesday,” her aunt continued. ”You can probably start on Thursday or next week, whatever you would prefer.” Daphne nodded at that.

A new school. Alone the thought of that was making her want to throw up. She didn’t do well with people. She was the weird girl sitting alone at lunch break and drawing and Daphne only wanted people to ignore her. Because if they didn’t ignore her, they were going to be mean to her and she didn’t want that. She had enough of that during primary school to last a lifetime.

“Why don’t we invite Grace and Luke over tomorrow evening?” Oliver suggested. “Daphne can meet them.”

“I think you are going to like them,” he told her, looking a whole lot like a golden retriever at that moment and Daphne didn’t have it in her heart to tell him that she would prefer everything but do that. Her cousin was apparently one of the well-liked people in school, a member of the football team and having a group of friends. That didn’t mix well with the weird girl with the pens stuck in her hair.

“That’s a great idea, Ollie,” Caroline told him and Daphne just ate another bite. She wasn’t really hungry, even when now she finally had the opportunity to eat all she wanted.

“You look tired,” Matthew commented, in what Daphne termed his doctor voice. Matthew was the town doctor and had been for years.

She could remember how he had very seriously put pink glittery bandaids on her cuts whenever she had skinned her knees.

“I haven’t slept well over the last few days,” she admitted quietly. Hopefully, he was going to end the interrogation with that. He didn’t.

“Not slept well or not slept at all?” He questioned, nearly gently.

“I couldn’t,” Daphne whispered, looking down at her lap.

“Why don’t we get you some warm milk. Ollie, you want some?” Matthew asked, standing up to clear the table and before Daphne could offer to help, Caroline already steered her to the living room, placing her on the couch and a quilted blanket around her shoulder.

There was a warm mug placed in her hands not soon thereafter and Daphne couldn’t remember anymore after that but stumbling up to her bed and falling back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up being far longer than I expected.


	6. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne goes shopping and meets Grace and Luke and Luke has a sudden realisation.

_You walked  
into my life  
like you had  
always lived  
there, like  
my heart, was  
a home built  
just for you.  
_

**_A. R. Asher_ **

On Tuesday morning, he drove both his sister and himself to school, Grace spending the 10-minute drive on her phone, seemingly more interested to catch up with the newest gossip than to actually have a conversation with him.

It didn’t bother him, he happy enough to spent some time in silence and consider how the thing with Ollie’s cousin was going to work out.

He knew that she had arrived yesterday afternoon, Ollie had been crabby all through their football training because he had just wanted to go see her. His instincts had been in full swing, a member of his pack, of his family, hurt and in need of comfort. The question was just how it had ended.

Even Grace, his mate, hadn’t heard a thing from Ollie since they had said their goodbyes after school the day before and Luke could see that his sister was worried.

“You know, he would have told you if it was bad,” Luke reasoned softly and his sister just huffed.

“Of course, it’s bad. What do you expect? That girl just lost her only parent and was ripped out of her hometown, away from everything she knew only to be thrown to the wolves,” his sister ranted.

“Literally,” Luke commented drily, unable not to laugh at that and Grace reached out to slap the back of his head.

“Not funny, Luke,” his sister snapped at him.

Thankfully the building of Fairbury High School, Home of the Wolverines ( _Luke swore that their whole pack had a terrible sense of humour._ ) came into view before his sister could slap him somewhere else.

“There’s Ollie,” he commented, hoping to distract Grace and it worked. He parked their black F150 that had been his and Grace’s 16th birthday present from their parents next to Oliver’s bright red Jeep.

Ollie had just arrived as well, slipping out of the car and Luke took his time to get out of the driver side, to let Ollie and Grace have their normal welcome.

There were some things a brother didn’t need to see. _His sister passionately kissing her mate was one of them._

“Hey, Luke,” his best friend greeted him as he came around the car, thankfully not making out with Grace anymore.

“You look terrible,” Luke commented. Ollie looked like he hadn’t slept a wink last night and Oliver just shrugged.

“That bad?” Grace asked softly, keeping her voice down. The parking lot was still nearly empty and Luke looked around, trying to see if there were any other Werewolves there that could hear the conversation they were having but they were in the clear. No other member of their pack around yet. 

“Yes,” Oliver gave back with a sigh. “She’s pale as a ghost looks like a walking skeleton and flinches away if you move too fast.” Luke bit his teeth together at that.

“And she just…she looks so terrified. You can _smell_ the fear pulsing from her,” Ollie snapped and then closed his eyes, visibly trying to keep himself in check

“Mom is…Mom spent most of the night crying,” he continued, his voice softer now.“It’s not…I don’t think she wants to believe that her own sister would…do anything to hurt her own child, her own flesh and blood but…but whatever happened to Daphne, it wasn’t _good,_ ” Ollie said. The way he said the last word told Luke all he needed to know.

Physical abuse didn’t happen often underneath wolves, not when the imperative to protect was so strong. If it did happen…then it could get ugly fast.

Daphne’s mother had been a wolf away from her pack, either already dormant or on the cusp of going that way. Her instincts wouldn’t have been as obvious any more than the instincts of a normal werewolf were.

Dormancy…that was the worst thing that could happen to a werewolf. To be stripped of the ability to shift, the ability to use their senses, their instincts…Luke shuddered at even the thought of that. To be reduced to not even have the sense of a normal human anymore, to be numb…that was the most terrible thing he could imagine.

There was a reason why most of the people that happened to didn’t survive long afterwards.

“Just…just give her time,” Grace suggested at that moment and Luke looked up to see his sister reach out to comfort her mate.

It was a biting pain to know that he didn’t have this. He didn’t have a mate that reached out to comfort him, he didn’t have a mate to love and to take care off. Their kind tended to find love young and to hold on to it tightly. And there had been no sign whatsoever of Luke’s wolf deciding than any girl would be a good choice. 

“I know. I just…I want her to stop smelling like I am putting a gun to her head, G,” Ollie sighed softly and Luke couldn’t help but pull a face at that in sympathy. Having a member of his family, of his pack _scared_ off him…that would be hurtful.

“Do you want to come over today?” Ollie asked finally.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Grace countered the question. “She just arrived, I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

And Grace could manage to overwhelm most people easily.

“She needs family around her,” Ollie said decisively. “And you are family.”

Grace nodded her agreement then.“Of course.“

“And you too,” Ollie told Luke who just raised an eyebrow. Somehow he doubted _that_ that was a good idea.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Ollie?” He questioned. “I am probably going to scare her even more than you did.”

“She needs to get over that sometime, right?” Luke nodded his agreement but internally he was just sighing. Great.

Humans recognised them as apex predators, recognised them as dangerous and exotic in a sense and that was what made them so attractive. Humans reacted to danger stupidly, namely with attraction. Werewolves were like catnip to them.

But that could also backfire spectacularly, namely if a human did not find danger attractive but feared it. And if Daphne was already scared of her own family, her own pack…Luke didn’t even want to think about how she was going to react to him.

He was after all the future alpha of the Schuyler pack and he knew, he knew that that was obvious even in his human form. He emanated that he was an alpha without any conscious decision and it wasn’t like he could just stop being what he was.

He trailed after Grace and Ollie into the English class, the only class they had altogether, apart from gym later in the day that was spent training for the football team and the cheerleading squad separately though.

He did do his best to pointedly ignore his ex-girlfriend though. Haley Webster had been his girlfriend for around 5 months during the summer and that had not ended well at all. Mostly because he hadn’t been able to keep being around any longer. Not that his wolf had ever liked her either way.

Haley had turned vapider by the minute and after she had gotten in a fight with Grace about getting the Head Cheerleader spot that year after a senior had wanted to concentrate on school for her last year…Luke had broken up with her. And now Haley had gotten it in her head to want to get back together with him.

So he ignored it most of the time, hoping that she would find somebody

They found their seats, the rest of the class slowly filing in and Luke leaned back into his chair. Whatever had happened to Ollie’s cousin…they were going to figure out a way to make it better. Somehow.

***

She slept for nearly 10 hours. When Daphne finally woke, the sun had come out to shine through her window. She just laid very still for a moment, hearing the waves hit the shore of that rocky beach and break against the land. The last time she had ever seen a beach was years ago.

Daphne couldn’t help but slip from the bed carefully and then pad over the dark wood floor to the window.

The sky was clear, the sun bright, the ocean stormy and blue. It was beautiful.

She didn’t stay there long but went rifling through one of the suitcases, trying to find something to wear.

The one garbage bag that held her mother's things she tried to lift to the top of the closet and she failed, her arms protesting with burning pain, so she had put it in the back of the closet. She couldn’t…she couldn’t unpack it. She couldn’t.

Daphne managed to unpack the rest of her meagre belongings, managed to put her clothes in the closet, not even filling one rail. She put her sketchbook on the night table, her charcoal next to it and put most of her school stuff on the chair that stood around in one corner of the room.

Finally, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed. She carefully peeled off the tank top she had worn to sleep in, clenching her teeth at the feeling of the fabric having glued itself to her back. It was impossible to get it off without it hurting or ripping open the wounds once again. She finally got it over her head, the grey fabric xxx with blood.

It had never given her that much of a difficult time before. Most of the times they had healed quickly enough.

Yeah, but normally, Michelle had stopped after once or twice and not kept on for it until you felt ready to faint, a voice in her head added and she shook her head, putting the memories back to where they belonged.

She soaked the top in soap and cold water, working out the blood and had hung it to dry before she had put on a black shirt underneath her thigh hoodie. While the colour would make Daphne look even more like a zombie, it would stop any blood from showing through. 

She got her hair in a ponytail and then finally dared to leave her room, being as quiet as she humanely could be.

The house was quiet as well and empty, not that that surprised Daphne.

Oliver would be at school and her uncle at work in his practice. The only one who would probably be there would be her aunt, as Caroline worked as an author and as such from home nearly all the time.

“Good Morning!” Her aunt happily chirped from the kitchen and Daphne couldn’t help but flinch in surprise. She slowly walked around the corner, not quite sure what she should expect.

It wasn’t her aunt cooking however, obviously making scrambled eggs and bacon.

“Have you slept well, honey?” Caroline asked her and Daphne could just nod, taking in the scene that was so utterly normal that it made it difficult to swallow.

This was what normal life was like, right? No standing up at 4 am to help clean that small corner shop, waling out of a dark apartment as quietly as she could, mentally pleading not to wake her mother.

Before she could protest, there was a plate laden with eggs and bacon in front off her, two slices of browned toasts added. This was…more than Daphne normally got to eat in a whole day.

She could only stare at it.

“There is orange juice in the fridge or milk,” her aunt continued, while Daphne was still frozen in place in front of the kitchen island. “I made cookies this morning, you can have some afterwards.”

“Thank you,” Daphne brought out, hesitantly getting to the fridge to open it. It was half full with groceries, and Daphne picked up the milk container, closing the door again. Right, glasses…

“To your left,” her aunt helpfully commented and Daphne opened the cupboard to pull out a glass and fill it with milk. Putting the milk container bag into the fridge, she finally sat down at the counter to eat, sitting down on the barstool and picking up the cutlery.

“We are out of nearly everything, so I need to go Grocery Shopping. Probably Target…There is an outlet store, we can get you a new winter coat there…” Her aunt trailed off. “Which size do you wear usually?”

“Really, I don’t need…” Daphne protested. She didn’t need a new coat. They had already spent more than enough money on her.

“Daphne, it’s going to get cold here soon. Really cold. And it’s going to stay that way for a few months. You need a good coat,” her aunt cut her off with a laugh. “We’ll find you something heavy enough for around here.”

She ate her food, not protesting again. Daphne managed to finish the whole plate before her stomach started to protest and then she put on her beloved sneakers and waited for her aunt, while Caroline searched for her keys. She appeared just a few moments later and Daphne leaned against the door throughout the drive to Augusta.

They went to a mall first, by far smaller than most of New York had been but there still were most of the shop's anybody could need around here.

They went to that outlet first and even when the coats were greatly reduced Daphne nearly got a heart attack when she looked at the price tag. Nearly 400 dollars for a coat? That was nearly the rent they had paid for a whole month.

Daphne could have bought food for nearly two months with that.

She trailed behind her aunt, deeply unsure what she was supposed to do, while Caroline happily chattered on about brands and colours.

“What colour do you want?” Caroline asked her, pulling out a navy parka and holding it up. “Something blue maybe? Or maybe something red…”

“I don’t need one…they are all so expensive…” Daphne brought out. This was so expensive. And she didn’t need a new coat. Her old one would be fine for another year or two and in the meantime she could…

“You are going to wear it every day for the next 4 months and maybe even next year,” Her aunt reasoned, turned towards her.

“Look, honey, you don’t” Caroline reached out to her, tucking a piece of hair behind Daphne’s ear. “Let us worry about the money, alright? Both Matthew and I make enough money that we can buy you a new winter coat. I know you…you didn’t have a lot, but it’s our job to provide for you now. It’s the _adult’s job,_ ” Caroline emphasised. 

Daphne could only nod. She couldn’t remember the last time she had an adult let take care of things for her.

“Let’s buy you a coat, some new clothes and whatever else you need. Alright? Now, do you want blue? Or maybe a black one…”

Daphne looked over the railing, her eyes finally concentrating on a coat in an army green colour. It had a thick fur hood and was also lined with fur.

“What about green?” Her aunt pulled that coat from the rack. “It’s an extra small but it should probably fit you.”

“it’s pretty,” Daphne finally admitted softly. It was beautiful.

“It is. Try it on,” Caroline encouraged her.

She got the coat in the end. It was heavy and warm, the fur hood the softest thing she had ever touched and she adored it. It cost way too much though.

Especially together with a pair of brown winter boots that had a green tartan pattern all up the side. For once they were actually comfortable, probably helped by the fact that they weren’t holding up by thread anymore.

They went to TJ Maxx next, rifling through rail after rail of sweaters and Jeans and Caroline didn’t let her leave the fitting room until Daphne had finally settled on two pairs of jeans that for once actual fit her lengthwise and three pairs of sweaters, as well as two more tops.

After everything had been paid for she had gone into the bathroom at the front of the store and changed into some of her new clothes before they even left the store. She picked a pink sweater, keeping her shirt on underneath it but put on her new jeans and new boots.

Her new clothes weren’t just pretty, they were also a whole lot more comfortable than the too-small clothes she had been wearing that morning. Daphne didn’t notice that the sweater was cashmere until she took the tags off to put it on.

It had cost way too much as far as Daphne was concerned but she adored it. Hours later she still kept catching herself petting her arm to enjoy the fuzzy fabric.

Caroline pulled her into a phone shop, adding her to the family plan and while again, Daphne tried to argue Caroline could her off with telling her that it was for Caroline’s peace of mind far more than anybody else’s.

So Daphne left the mall that day with a sparkly pink phone case wrapped around her new phone. She had exactly 5 numbers in that in the morning, the mobile numbers of Caroline, Ollie and Matthew, the number of the house, and the number of Matthews practice.

They went to Walmart next, Caroline parking around halfway across the parking lot.

“I need to get groceries, and you should get shampoo and toothpaste and everything else you need,” she told Daphne leaning over the centre console so that she could reach her purse she had thrown on the backseat.

“I don’t…you put in my bathroom, I already have it?” Daphne asked bewildered which made Caroline laugh.

“Honey, I put some of the stuff I buy in bulk for myself in your bathroom. I am sure you have favourites,” her aunt told her.

 _Favourites_.

“I don’t,” Daphne brought out softly. “I just used dish soap. Michelle always uses all the shampoo.”

And then she replayed her words in her head and corrected herself. ”Used. She used to.”

Her aunt was painfully quiet for a moment.

“No more dish soap, alright?” She told Daphne, her voice forced cheerful.

No more dish soap.

Daphne picked out some shampoo, some conditioner as well and finally a hair mask. Maybe that was going to turn her hair into something presentable.

Caroline added new hairbands and bobby pins to the trolley as well and they wandered through the clothing department for a bit, picking out some tank tops and thick flannel pyjamas. There was also a new school bag added to Daphne’s possessions.

She also picked out a set of earrings and necklace with pretty pink stones.

They bought groceries, which seemed to be enough for a small army, which didn’t surprise Daphne after she had seen how much Oliver ate in an evening and Daphne was allowed to get Cocoa Puffs for breakfast.

Finally, Daphne stocked up on school supplies, new ring binders and a new pencil pouch, as well as new pens and highlighters.

She didn’t allow herself to gaze longingly at the art section. She had gotten far more than she deserved already.

They paid, Daphne, feeling slightly faint at the grand total and finally got all the groceries in the car.

“We have one last stop to make, then we are going home,” Caroline told her as they drove from the parking lot and then nearly immediately turned left.

They were near Target now, but also…there was a huge art and craft stores right next to the Target.

Her aunt got out of the car and Daphne trailed after her as Caroline went straight to the art store, grabbing a basket.

“What do you need?” She asked Caroline, pushing down the hope that was building in her chest.

“I don’t need anything. But I am pretty sure that you do. At least if you are still doodling on everything you can find,” her aunt told her amused, handing her the basket that Daphne grabbed reflexively.

“I do,” Daphne admitted. “But I don’t need…” she protested half-heartedly.

“Honey, we are not leaving that store until you put at least five things in that basket,” Caroline told her amused.

“And don’t you dare to just put 5 pens in it,” she added thoughtfully after a moment. Daphne couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I…Thank you,” she finally brought out. She couldn’t…no thank you would be enough for this.

So she wandered around, picking up two new sketchbooks, new charcoal and also new watercolours, as well as few new paintbrushes.

Her aunt seemed pleased enough with her haul.

***

They went to Ollie’s house right after school, Luke following Grace and Ollie, who drove together.

The red house looked just like it always did and Luke parked behind Ollie, opening the car door and getting out.

Ollie was already opening the door, calling for Caroline, who answered from the kitchen.

“Hey, Mum. Where’s Daphne?” Ollie asked, putting his school bag on one of the kitchen chairs and Luke and Grace mirrored that.

“Outside on the beach,” Caroline answered with a smile. “She wanted to take a walk.” She waved to the window and Luke easily zoomed in on the girl walking around the beach. She was bundled up in a thick green jacket and was walking slowly along the shore.

“I have cookies and hot cocoa ready when you get back in,” Caroline told them and they all chorused their thanks before Ollie lead them outside.

As they reached the back of the property, the wind changed direction.

And then the smell hit him.

It smelled warm. Like spice cake maybe if he wanted to compare it to anything, but it was so much better than spice cake.

It reminded him of the pineapple upside-down cake his grandmother had used to make, sweet and warm. Good enough that he wanted to bath in that scent.

_Finally, there you are._

That was his only thought at that moment, his whole being coming to a standstill in that moment.

He could feel the wolf within him stand to attention, take in what was his potential mate.

Heat began to spread through him starting from his chest.

She was it for him. The Mating Pull was there in his chest, pulling him towards her.

“Luke, you coming?” His sister called, already a few steps in front of him and he jogged to catch up, all the while not ever taking his attention from _her_.

She had looked up at Grace’s call, looking towards him and he got his first good look at her, even when there was still around 20 feet between them.

She was tiny. That much was obvious. Bright blonde hair was there, messily blowing around her face from the wind as she slowly approached them.

The nearer she came, the more her scent intensified.

Warm and safe and so perfect that he wanted to roll around in it.

“Hey, Daphne.” She looked up at Oliver’s words, straight at him it seemed and he could just swallow.

She was _lovely_.

Her face was heart-shaped, her eyes matching the stormy sea, and she stared at him, bitting on her lip before the turned even redder. He could smell a bit of saltiness, probably her having managed to draw blood.

And she also looked exhausted. Dark bags under her eyes, the skin stretching over bones with no fat to speak off. She seemed nearly _fragile_.

His wolf growled at that, the want to protect, to shelter, suddenly flaring up inside him. Luke needed to keep himself tightly in check no to reach out for her.

“Hey.” She answered, again her high bell-like voice and so painfully timid that it was nearly painful.

“Grace, Daphne, Daphne, my girlfriend Grace,” Ollie introduced them, waving between Grace and Daphne.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she told his sister with a smile that Luke could see was trying desperately to mask the fear that tinged her scent. The warm and sweet scent had begun to turn bitter.

“And that’s Luke, Grace’s twin brother,” Oliver told her.

“Hey,” he brought out, wrecking his brain to come up with something, anything, smart to say to Daphne. He came up empty.

_Thanks, brain._

“Hey,” she gave back, looking at him, unconsciously taking a step back away from him, and the fear intensified.

“I am sorry about your mom,” it burst out of Grace and Luke nearly wanted to growl at his own sister when he could nearly feel the _terror_ radiating from Daphne.

She stared at his sister for a moment and then she just looked down.

 _“_ Thank you,” she whispered finally.

“Mom made cookies and hot cocoa,” Ollie tried to break the ice, but it was obvious that Daphne would probably like to do everything but be with them at that moment. “Why don’t we go inside?” He asked, already moving in that direction. 

“How was your shopping excursion?” Ollie asked her and that seemed to thaw her.

“Great,” she answered softly. “I got new watercolours. And clothes.” It was quite obvious which of these two she treasured more. Namely the paint.

“You paint?” Luke asked her, hoping that maybe, maybe he would be able to make her stop fearing him so terribly.

She looked at him surprised, nearly missing a step.

“Yes, I do,” she answered shyly, lowering a gaze. They reached the house, Daphne slowly slipping out of her coat and hanging it up.

Without it on, she looked even smaller than she had before. She may be just so reached his chest and that was it. She was tiny.

And thin. Too thin. The bones stood out sharply against her skin.

He wasn’t the only one who realised that. Not when Caroline badgered her into taking a cookie and a hot cocoa, while she only nibbled on it and didn’t really seem interested in eating it.

“So, are you looking forward to school?” Grace asked her, obviously trying to make up for her misstep earlier.

“I…I don’t know,” Daphne answered, her voice nearly shaking, the fear once again overwhelming her.

“They have an art club there, I think you would like that,” Grace said, sounding chipper. Luke could see what she was doing, namely ignoring Daphne being upset and trying to get her mind off from whatever had bothered her.

“They do?” She asked timidly.

“They do. Our cousin is a member, Grace can introduce you to her if you would like. Kiana is great,” he jumped in the conversation and she looked at him through the corner of her eye.

“I…I would like that,” she finally whispered.

“You’ll probably have one of us in nearly every one of your courses, we don’t really have a lot in the way of electives but we do have art…You’ll have Kiana there with you if you take it though,” Grace continued. “And you are probably going to be the most interesting thing that happens this year.”

“Great,” Daphne whispered under her breath, but they all heard it, all of them chuckling at that. She looked up startled.

“It’s going to be fine,” Luke told her soothingly. At least he hoped it sounded like that to her. “The people here are nice. They won’t give you any trouble.” At least not if they knew what was good for them, he added darkly.

“We should probably get home though…English homework is going to take a long time tonight,” Grace sighed.

English homework. Like he would be able to do that while…while he could feel the mating pull in his chest, while he knew he had a new mate, while his wolf was pacing, angry at him keeping a tight lock on him

They said their goodbyes, Grace and Ollie taking once again, far too long and he waited outside, in the car because he knew that if he didn’t pull himself out of that house…he wouldn’t be able to leave her alone at all.

He watched her move upstairs though, waving to her through the car window and she stopped for a moment before she waved back quickly, and then continued moving upstairs.

His sister came skipping out of the house then, slipping into the car, closing the seatbelt.

“She seems nice,” Grace commented, and a part of Luke was unreasonably pleasant that his sister liked her.

“She does,” he agreed. She seemed…perfect.

“Is everything alright? You are being very…quiet,” his sister asked him curiously and he nodded his head.

Things were going to be great, to be honest. He just needed to get away from other humans for a little while.

“Yes. Everything is fine,” he answered, pulling in to their house. “I am gonna go for a run.”

“Right now?” Grace asked him surprised and he nodded.

“Yeah. I need to get my head free.”


	7. Chapter 4

_What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us._

**_Helen Keller_ **

He threw his backpack on the table in his house and managed to get out of clothing before he let the change overcome him. He hadn’t had a problem with shifting against his will in years at that point.

At that moment though he had known that he wouldn’t be able to stop the shift from happening for any longer.

He hit the ground on four paws, every inch of his body shuddering with just so suppressed instincts and he forced himself to run in exactly the opposite direction that everything was yearning inside him to go.

Luke ran, darting inside the forest and then keeping a directory north, perpendicular to the shore and away from Fairbury. Away from his pack, away from everybody. He needed…He needed privacy. Somewhere quiet to order his thoughts, somewhere…somewhere he could have his freakout about this without anybody finding out.

Finally, he turned left and carefully jumped down towards the beach to the small beach cove that was there. There was also a small cave there that Luke was pretty sure he was one of the few people that actually knew about, but that day, he went to the edge of the water, pacing.

If anybody saw the huge black wolf walking along the beach, they would have been able to see the shuddering running through every muscle, the way it even now started to listen to hear anything out of the ordinary, anything that wasn’t safe.

Luke could feel the displeasure of his wolf, who had wanted to go see Daphne again, run through him.

He couldn’t. Not like this. The displeasure just heightened and he howled angrily in response. It wasn’t like Luke himself didn’t want to. He just somehow doubted that it was a good idea for a big black wolf to show up to Daphne and lay down in front of her bed.

Mates.

He was well and truly fucked. Oliver would probably want to rip off his head for that. Daphne was in no damn way prepared what was coming for her.

She was a human, she had no idea werewolves even existed. She wasn’t a werewolf herself.

Of course, he could bite her if she wanted it, but only after they both had turned 18. Being mated to a human could get…difficult. Humans were so easily breakable.

Especially her. She looked so _fragile_.

A car accident could kill her easily, a shot, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 _Luke_ could snap her in two pieces. She was no match for his strength. Alone the thought of that resulting in an upset howl escaping his muzzle. He couldn’t hurt her. He _couldn’t_.

At least his instincts agreed with that. He was her mate, he was supposed to protect her, he…couldn’t hurt her.

His instincts were calling for him to bite her and change her.

They wanted him to mount her, claim her and bite her again, make her submit to her alpha.

They wanted to make her his in every possible way. He shuddered at that.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t. Not like that. _Not yet._

He had always been careful with every girl he had been with, fully well knowing that he could easily hurt them. But with her…with her there was the added fear that he was going to lose his grip on his instincts and give in to them, do to her what his instincts called out to him to do.

His wolf had never cared about any girl he had taken to bed, but Daphne…Daphne was already recognised as his future mate, as the mother of his future cubs.

They were far too young for that line of thinking, he was aware of that.

Even for them. Wolves found love early and held on to that. He knew that his parents had married when they were only 23 and had them just 9 months later. The instincts had pushed his parents into having children and Luke had always known that the same would happen to him.

It was just startling to realise how quickly that happened. It already was happening, the wolf nearly purring with contentment at the realisation that there was a mate to get home to. A mate to spend time with. A mate to father a future alpha with.

Right.

What was the plan? What should he do?

How exactly was he supposed to explain this? Not only to Daphne but to Caroline and Matthew? Or even his parents? To Ollie and Grace?

What if she didn’t like him? What if she continued to be as scared of him as today? He could feel his wolf’s displeasure at that again.

She was his mate, she wasn’t supposed to be scared off him. Respect him, yes. Submit to her Alpha when the situation called for it, yes.

But not look at him in fear. Never in fear.

He needed to get her to relax around him. The question was just how. How should he go on about that?

He could hope that she would get used to his presence if he spent enough time with her. Try to get her to see his presence as something nice that she wanted and not something negative that she dreaded.

Finally, finally, he turned back around, slowly trotting back home. He was yearning to go to the Hyde’s House, to try and sneak a peek at Daphne in her room. To know that his mate was safe.

He didn’t. Way to go not be a total stalker, Luke, he praised himself mentally.

When he finally arrived back home, he got dressed again and then went to the main house.

He had started sleeping in that small cabin just behind the main house around a year ago, everything so that he didn’t need to hear his sister and her mate whenever they had their _fun_.

It gave him a breathing space away from happily mated couples all around him.

His father’s car just came down the driveway and Luke stopped for a moment, waving at him.

“Hey, dad,” he greeted his father, letting him pull him in a side hug and ruffle his hair, even when by now Luke could look his father straight into the eye.

“Good evening,” his father gave back. “Did you already have dinner?”

“I don’t know, I went for a run,” Luke admitted, which made his father look up in surprise. Luke didn’t ever slack off to just go for a run if he still had schoolwork to do or his mother made dinner. If he ever went out alone that either early in the morning or late in the evening.

“Is everything alright?” His father asked him softly and a part of Luke wanted to just come clean in that moment. His father would know what to do. His father always knew what to do.

“Yes, I just…I needed to think,” He admitted softly.

“I am there if you want to talk, Luke,” his father told him and Luke knew that to be the complete and utter truth.

“Not yet. Soon.” He looked at his father, mentally begging him to understand what he wasn’t saying and his father nodded.

“Of course. Whenever you are ready, son.”

***

She flinched when a howl cut through the quietness. It wasn’t late, not really, but she had still already curled up on her bed, the room dark. She had been unable to sleep, laying on the too comfortable bed, her back aching.

As another howl joined the first, Daphne was unable not to shiver again.

There were wolves here? In Maine? Was that normal?

Another howl ripped through the silence, her heart starting to beat faster. They wouldn’t get near to the house, right? They couldn’t hurt her.

“Daphne?” Ollie’s voice came from the door and she flinched when he flicked on the light.

“Is everything alright?” He asked her gently. She knew that she probably made quite a sorry sight, shaking on the bed, pressed against the headboard.

“Are these wolves?” She brought out and Ollie nodded, seemingly amused. He came to sit on the edge of the bed and looked out of the window.

“The population is a bit out of control around here,” he told her, a smile playing around his mouth and she flinched as another howl came through the night.

“Hey, they aren’t going to hurt you,” Ollie soothed her. “They won’t come near the house. And even when some rabid wolf decides to attack, mum has a shotgun.”

Her startled look seemed to amuse him even more. A gun? In the freaking house?

“I suppose country living is a bit different than New York City,” he added and she could just nod.

“There are no wolves howling at night,” she whispered. And also her mother surely had not kept a gun in the house.

“We should get you a desk or something,” Ollie suddenly said, looking at the empty place beneath the window and she just shrugged.

“It’s fine,” she told Ollie softly. She didn’t need a desk. She already had a bed that was more comfortable than anything else she had ever slept on.

For a moment she remembered that closet she had slept in for a few months, remembered how she had slept on the floor until she had finally gotten a camping bed a few months later.

“We could make a day out of it. Get Luke and Grace to help us. They can actually handle power tools,” Ollie suggested.

Because Luke and Grace surely had nothing better to do. Alone the thought about asking Ollie’s friend for anything was making Grace want to cower. He was at least two heads taller than her, had probably 80 pounds of pure muscle mass on her and while he had seemed nice enough, he had scared her.

He was calm and near-silent, his eyes watching her attentively though. They had been a deep green colour, the same of his sister, reminding Daphne of the needles of a fir. Luke had seemed nice enough, but she was not going to get on his nerves. Or Ollie’s. Or Grace’s. They were nice to her, but Daphne had learned by now not to overstay her welcome.

She would just do her best to melt into the background of the school, would find some corner to sit, where nobody else ever sat and keep her head down.

Maybe her last 2 years of High school could be relatively peaceful. Maybe nobody would think her to be the easy victim of bullying again.

“Are you gonna paint the walls?” Ollie interrupted her thoughts and she looked at the walls for a moment. Currently, they were white, with a blue undertone. It wasn’t terrible. It was nice.

“I don’t know yet,” she answered truthfully.

She would love something sunny…maybe yellow. Or something dark and moody. Maybe a dark green.

“What colour were the walls in your old room?” Ollie enquired and Daphne couldn’t help but pull a face.

“Grey-ish,” she answered. The colour had been unrecognisable by that point, probably darkened from the original by cigarette smokes and who knew what else. There had been a few splatters on the wall that Daphne had been quite certain once had been blood. “The paint was coming off though.”

Another howl cut through the night and she looked outside.

“Will they keep on howling?” She asked Ollie.

“No, they should shut up soon,” Oliver said with a sigh.

“Try to get some sleep, Little Red Riding Hood. No bad wolves are gonna get you, I promise,” he told her with a grin as he stood up and left the room, shutting off the light as he went.

Daphne tried to fall asleep again, tossing and turning.

Her dreams were messy and not making any sense. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the wolves made an appearance as well, growling and scary.

They were huge black beasts, staring down at her, growling and showing their white gleaming teeth. She woke up gasping when she dreamed that one of them had its teeth at her throat.

It had felt real.

The cold wet nose, the hot mouth, the sharp teeth pressed against her neck.

***

“Apparently Haley is now telling people that you are gay,” Jason Collins announced when they finally got into the locker room after practice that evening. Coach Bell had been the literal devil to them that afternoon, as the next game was coming up in two weeks and it was against their arch-rivals in the fight about the Lobster Bowl.

Yes, that’s what they called their High School and Maine based version of the Super Bowl. The Lobsterbowl. The High School that won would get a silver Lobster Trophy and too many real lobsters to eat.

The next game would be The Fairbury Wolverines against the Riverside Rebels, and Luke wanted to win. Well, he wanted to actually decimate the Rebels, but he would be fine with winning.

“Is she doing that now?” Luke asked with a sigh. If it was only that, he could deal with it.

“That’s the only reason why you could have possibly broken up with her,” Jason continued, a bright grin on his face and Luke just rolled his eyes at the fellow werewolf as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Of course, Hayley would think that. That she was so amazing that there was no reason to end that relationship other than he had been gay the whole time.

He should have just gone on to ignore her horrid personality and continue to be together with her, to not endanger her chances at being Prom Royalty.

“Couldn’t get it up for a girl, Schuyler?” Kyle Wilder baited him and Luke levelled him with a single look.

His and Kyle’s…rivalry, if you could call it that because Luke couldn’t care less to be honest, had been going on for the last two years and it had become quite heated ever since Luke had become the Quarterback of the football team.

Since then Kyle always tried to bait Luke into reacting to his taunts and Luke just rolled his eyes. Kyle was a human and so as much as Luke wanted to beat the hell out of him, that wasn’t exactly a good idea.

His father would probably have his head for even entertaining the thought.

“I broke up with her because she is a vapid and arrogant individual that told me that my sister was a bitch,” Luke gave back drily. “Any other questions?”

“Oh and Kyle, regarding your not really well hid homophobia: My uncle is gay. I have not a single problem with that, but I am not even bi-curious myself,” Luke told him with a pointed look. His uncle had gotten enough shit for the rest of his life.

Werewolves weren’t homophobic on the whole, but it was rare that there was a gay werewolf because they were a relatively small population and breeding was a biological concern. There were more “traditional packs” that were homophobic to the extreme, even going as far as disowning members that were. Luke’s own father had kicked three families out of the pack when his uncle had come out because they had protested his continued membership in the pack.

“Oh and I thought I could have a chance with you,” Ollie joked, batting his eyes at him and Luke just looked at him, ignoring the laughter around them.

“Grace would gladly kill us both,” he deadpanned.

“At least we die together. Tragically,” Ollie said theatrically, making most of the other boys in the room laugh loudly.

“You really think you are so great, don’t you?” Kyle snapped and Luke just rolled his eyes.

“Sure,” he said drily. “I am amazing.”

***

Fairbury High School was housed in a big brick building that looked like it was already a few hundred years old.

It was far smaller than what Daphne had been used to from New York, but it seemed nice enough when she trailed behind her aunt for that meeting with the headmaster.

It took less than 20 minutes total, to sort out Daphne’s new schedule. She would take Creative Writing and Art as electives and Art Club in the afternoon.

Daphne was more than happy with that.

She should have known that that happiness wouldn’t last long.

“I have a meeting with the…funeral home and the priest this afternoon,” Caroline told her when they arrived home. That brought Daphne harshly back to the present.

Right. That’s why she was staying here now. That’s why she didn’t need to worry about food or the rent anymore.

Her mother was dead.

“Do you want to come?” Caroline asked her. Did she want to come? To the funeral parlour? To talk about…

“Do I need to?” She brought out, staring at the cup of tea in her hand and her aunt stepped behind her, gently touching her hair.

“No, honey, of course not,” her aunt told her softly. “Is there…anything you want at the funeral? A song perhaps? I probably should have asked before but…”

Daphne could just shake her head. “I…I have her things in my room. If you need…” Daphne said, unable to end the sentence. Something for her mother to wear to the funeral.

“Yes, that’s…that’s good. Is there anything that you want to keep?” Her aunt asked her and she just shook her head. She fetched suitcase, handing it off to her aunt without as much of a hesitation. It were just things at this point.

“Could…Could you keep it somewhere else, please?” Daphne finally brought out. She didn’t want that suitcase anywhere in her room anymore.

Caroline looked startled by her request but nodded. “I’ll put in on the attic. It will be there whenever you want it, Daphne.”

Daphne went to hide in her room afterwards, her aunt getting ready to go to the funeral home, meeting Matthew there.

She went to the kitchen table after Caroline had left, stealing an old chipped mug from the kitchen, cracking open her new sketchbook and then trying out her new watercolours for the first time. She could make something pretty. Anything that wouldn’t remind her off her mother.

She painted the beach after a little while, trying to match the grey tone of the big stones near the house, the rough sand, the stormy ocean.

Daphne concentrated on that and only looked up when she heard the door open.

“Hello!” That was Ollie’s voice, seemingly excited and she peeked around the corner to find him enter the living room, Grace and Luke trailing behind him.

Apparently Daphne hadn’t yet seen the last of these two.

“Hi,” she brought out softly as they filled the kitchen, all of them moving like they had been there thousands of time. It was seemingly well-choreographed as Ollie fetched glasses and water, and Luke and Grace began to get out there things to do homework.

She jumped when he sat down next to her, Grace on her other side, leaving the seat across from her open for Ollie.

“What are you painting?” He asked her interestedly, peeking over to her sketchbook.

“The beach,” she brought out, suddenly dry. He invaded her space slightly to get a better look at the picture and she couldn’t help but breathe in his scent.

He smelled warm. Warm and musky. She couldn’t figure out what exactly it was but it smelled good. Nearly too good.

“That looks beautiful,” he told her softly then and she looked startled at him, seeing him smile. It wasn’t. The rocks were all wrong, the colours not muted enough, the proportions were off and it looked…terribly.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Her stomach was roiling with nerves and she needed to swallow to wet her suddenly dry throat.

“How was your meeting at the school?” Grace asked then, paging through a book until she found what she wanted.

“Good, I got a schedule,” Daphne answered hesitantly, unsure if Grace actually wanted to hear about it.

“Oh, can I see?” The other girl asked with a smile and Daphne stood up to fetch it from the fridge, where Caroline had hung it up. Daphne handed it to Grace and then carefully pulled the page out of the sketchbook. She needed to do something else.

“You have English with all of us, Math and History with Luke, French with me, Creative Writing with Ollie, and Art with Kiana,” Grace told her excitedly.

Why was Grace excited about that?

“Where’s Mom?” Ollie asked then, finally bringing a plate filled with sandwiches to the table which he handed off first to Luke and then to Grace, both of which took one.

“The Funeral Home,” Daphne brought out quietly, staring at the empty page.

That quieted them all down.

“I am sorry,” Ollie said carefully but she just shook her head. It wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t know that alone the mention of…She swallowed again the pain in her chest, against the burn in her eyes that wanted to overwhelm her.

“I…Our Mom had us write letters to our grandfather when he died. It helped,” Grace said softly.

“Why don’t you paint something pretty for your Mom?” Luke suggested then quietly.

She looked at him startled, but he just gently pushed the watercolours nearer to her.

“Something she would like?” He repeated to her in a soft voice and she could just nod. Daphne could make something pretty for her. A last piece for Mom.

And this time there was even no way for Michelle to rip it to pieces because it wasn’t good enough. 


	8. Chapter 5

**Some cry with tears;  
Others with thoughts.**

_Octavio Paz_

This time, there were no wolves howling at night. It was quiet outside, strangely so. The only thing Daphne could hear were the ocean waves lapping at the shore, the wind flowing through the trees and shaking the leaves.

She slept curled up on the side, her hands clenched into the soft blankets, nervousness forming in the pit of her stomach.

The next day would be her first day at her new school. Daphne would attend that school all through the rest of her junior and her senior year and to be honest, she was terrified.

She had always liked school, had like learning, but she had never liked any of her fellow students. They picked on her, first because she was smaller and lighter and because they could hurt her without her really being able to do anything against it and then later because she was the odd one that didn’t have any friends. She was the weird one, the girl that had gotten detention for falling asleep in class because she had been awake until 3 am scrubbing the floor in the small shop around the corner and had then come home only to find her mother passed out on the floor in her own vomit.

Nobody had ever seen the bruises, the black eyes, the ribs that had been tender for weeks. Nobody had ever cared about the cough that hadn’t gotten any better for nearly three months until Daphne had gotten her hands on old antibiotics.

She blended into the background, only coming out from there to be hurt and then hiding away again.

Daphne was the easy target and that she would continue to be that for the rest of her life.

Her new phone woke her the next morning and she got dressed slowly, her back still protesting. It wasn’t healing, wasn’t getting better and Daphne knew that she should do something against it but she didn’t know what.

She kept it as clean and dry as she could, which was difficult enough but she couldn’t reach her back and the cuts reopened constantly. She wore cotton shirts under her clothing to not ruin it and hoped that with time it would heal over.

It had always in the past.

She packed her new backpack, put on her new earrings and the necklace, put her new small sketchbook on top of the rest of her things and then went downstairs.

Caroline was already making breakfast and badgered her into eating a bowl of porridge. Matthew was already at work and Oliver showed up halfway through Daphne’s breakfast and shovelled too much food in not enough time in his mouth.

Then, they got dressed for school, Daphne putting on her boots and her parka over the grey jumper that she wore. The sky outside was grey that morning and Caroline fluttered around the living room, seemingly even more nervous than Daphne was.

“Oh, we forgot to get you a hat!” Her aunt suddenly exclaimed. “And a Scarf. And gloves.” Before Daphne could protest, her aunt was searching through the closet in the hallway for something for Daphne to wear.

It would have been fine. Daphne had survived Winter in New York without a scarf and a hat. Even when she had oftentimes yearned for that.

“Oh god, mum, we’ll only be outside for five minutes!” Ollie huffed with a long-suffering sigh.

“It’s _**cold**_ outside, Ollie,” Caroline said. There was more said between the two of them in one short look that only took seconds but Ollie shut up and Caroline produced a bright red beanie from the closet, pulling it over Daphne’s ponytail until it covered her ears.

“There you go,” her aunt told her, looping a just as red scarf around Daphne’s neck. “We’ll get you your own, but until then this is fine, right?” Caroline asked her anxiously.

Daphne could just nod, reaching out to touch the soft wool of the hat. 

“Thanks,” she brought out.

“Of course.” Caroline smiled. “Now, have fun at school, do your best and don’t worry.” She took Daphne head in her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Daphne was so startled that she couldn’t help but hold still for that.

She couldn’t remember Michelle ever doing that to her.

“Ollie, take care of her,” Caroline said, also kissing her son on the cheek and then opening the door and herding both of them out of the house.

“Of course, I’ll do that,” Ollie exclaimed like even the suggestion of him no doing that was an insult to his honour. Daphne still wondered why he was even willing to spend time with her.

Daphne slipped into the passenger's seat of Ollie’s red car put her backpack on her lap.

Ollie scrambled into the driver’s seat, throwing his jacket on the backseat and then started the car to back out of the driveway.

“Nervous?” He asked her interest as they slowly rumbled down the unpaved pathway towards the highway.

“Yes,” she answered truthfully, not caring if he thought she was a baby for being scared.

“Hey. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise,” Ollie told her and she nodded. She wished she had his positivity.

Right now, Daphne was just dreading it.

***

“Grace, I swear…” He called after his sister, to finally show up so that they could drive to school.

His wolf was already projecting annoyance, mostly because he wanted to see Daphne. And the longer his sister was taking, the longer he needed to wait until he saw his mate again.

“Calm down, Luke, we still have time,” his sister huffed when she finally came out of the house.“Why do you even want to go that early? Normally I am the one that needs to get on your nerves to finally get going?” Grace asked him as she slipped into the passenger seat.

He didn’t answer, just started the car and got driving.

He hadn’t told anybody yet. Nobody but him knew and it was…it was nice to have that secret. Nobody knew, nobody needed to know yet and he was going to keep it like that for a little while.

Luke was very much aware that he was trying to get out of explaining this to his family, to Ollie and Caroline and Matthew, to the rest of the pack and he knew that the longer he waited…the worse it was going to get when the eventual blow-up happened.

Just for a little while longer. Just until at least the funeral was behind them.

Oh, the funeral…his mother had already started making casseroles for the wake at the Hyde’s home and Luke was already dreading that. Daphne seemed to be nearly…emotionless whenever her mother was mentioned.

Luke knew exactly what she doing. Namely put up a wall between herself and her emotions and not letting them overwhelm her. She hadn’t cried once according to Oliver. No tears. She had seen close to them a few times, and he could smell the pain notes in her scent but she didn’t want anybody to see them.

“How do you think she is going to handle finding out?” His sister asked suddenly and he could only shrug. There was only to hope that she wasn’t going to have a complete freakout and be terrified of him for the rest of her life.

“I don’t know,” Luke answered with a sigh.“I am more worried about the funeral, to be honest.”

“You are more worried about the funeral than her finding out that we can turn into wolves?” Grace asked him incredulously.

“Yes. She’s not dealing with her grief at all, Grace. She’s pushing it down in a box and not dealing with it. And that’s going to boil over sometime soon. And when that happens, it won’t be pretty,” he told his sister, who stayed quiet, sunken in thoughts.

At the moment he finally pulled into the parking lot and was happy to see Ollie’s car already parked. He parked next to him, Grace jumping out immediately, and ignored her and Ollie kissing to get around the front of his car to get a glimpse of Daphne.

She was just getting out of her car, wearing a bright red beanie that hid her light blonde hair mostly from view. Her backpack dangled in her hand and the rest of her was swathed in a parka.

Once again, Luke was reminded of how utterly tiny she was. She looked up at him, putting a smile on her face and Luke tried to prepare himself for the onslaught of her scent.

He failed terribly.

Again it enveloped him. Warm and sweet it was there, wafting around her and the only thing that Luke could think about for a moment was how it would be to hold her in his arms and breathe in that scent from the nearest proximity possibly.

Press his nose against her neck, maybe even kiss her…no, we are not doing that, he told himself. Not if he wanted to get one of these inappropriate erections that teenage werewolves tended to have too often.

“Hey,” she greeted him hesitantly and he smiled at her, careful not to show his teeth because he knew that that sometimes tended to put humans on edge.

Even in their human form, wolf teeth tended to be white and gleaming and could feel threatening even if they weren’t meant that way.

“Hey,” he gave back, his voice hoarse. “How was your evening yesterday?” Luke asked her, trying to think of something, anything that would break the ice.

It seemed to work. She gave him another hesitant smile. “We had dinner. I painted,” she said, the simple pleasure of that apparent in her voice. It had been fun for her, he realised. Just a simple family dinner and the opportunity to spend a few hours losing herself in her paintings.

She was extremely talented, he had seen that even when he had no idea about painting. Her emotions seemed to jump from the page and become a real person in the room.

The picture of the beach had been dark and moody, the cliffs rocky and the lines shaky. It was obvious that she had been working through something when she had painted that. There was pain in that picture, pain that Luke wanted to take away and that he knew he would never be able to.

She had lost her pack, her family. And even when she wasn’t alone right now, even when she was surrounded by her family and she had people around her that wanted her there…Luke knew that she would always carry that loss with her.

He watched her jump as a car door crashed shut, bitterness evading her smell. It made him jumpy as well, even when he knew that there was no threat there.

“You don’t need to be scared,” he told her softly, unable not to. She looked at him, blue eyes wide open.

“is it that obvious?” She whispered and he would have given everything at that moment to be able to reach out and offer her any sort of comfort. He knew he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be well received.

So Luke just gave her another soft smile and shrugged.

“Only slightly,” he told her, trying to infuse his voice with calm.“Nobody here will hurt you. I promise.” At least not if they didn’t want to meet him shifted. His wolf growled softly in agreement.

“Where’s your locker?” He changed the topic, not liking to keep her outside for much longer. She was shaking like a leaf and he wasn’t sure if that was the cold or her fear.

“113,” she answered and he couldn’t help but grin.

“I am 115, so we are right next to each other. Do you want to get there before classes start?” He asked her, happy that the stars had aligned in his favour. He would have one opportunity to actually be alone with her.

And to have her smile at him that way again, all soft and sweet and thankful. 

“Yes, please,” she whispered.

“Ollie, we are going to the lockers,” he called for his friend, not receiving an answer and he didn’t bother to turn around to look for him. He just smiled at Daphne.

“Come on. These two need a few more minutes. They haven’t seen each other in a long time,” he added only lightly sarcastically and made his way away from the car, carefully to match his long strides to Daphne’s much smaller ones. 

He couldn’t ever be really angry at Grace and Ollie having their fun, not if it made his sister so happy to spent time with her mate.

“They saw each other yesterday afternoon,” Daphne said more a question than anything else and he just shrugged.

“Yes, nearly 10 hours. And it wasn’t like they didn’t text throughout the evening.” Still, for wolves…that were quite a few hours that they hadn’t been near their mates.

Daphne turned to look towards them and Luke looked back as well, seeing Ollie reach out to tuck a piece of Grace’s hair behind her ear. Ollie said something, Grace smiling at him and then kissing him again. Luke knew that if tried to listen, he would be able to hear their conversation but he made a concerted effort not too.

“They are cute,” Daphne commented softly, a note of near longing in her voice, and he looked at her.

“You think so?” He asked her carefully.

“Yeah.” She sighed softly. “They seem to be happy…like the couple that stay together forever. Even if that just happens in a fantasy world,” she added quietly and he stared at her.

No. That didn’t just happen in a fantasy world. At least not if he had anything to say about this.

This would be them in a few months if she was willing to give him a chance.

“My parents have been married since they were 22. It doesn’t always just happen in fantasy worlds,” he decided to say finally.

***

She was absentminded when she walked at Luke’s side through the school corridors, still thinking of Ollie and Grace and how cute they had seemed at that moment, completely happy in their little world.

And then she ran headfirst in another person when they passed a corner.

“HEY!” The guy exclaimed loudly and she couldn’t help but flinch and scramble backwards, trying to get away from the guy that was looming over her.

“So…sorry…” she stuttered an apology, her hands clenching in the straps of her backpack.

“Cant’ you be fucking careful?!” He snapped at her and she flinched again at the loud word.

“Kyle,” Luke interrupted them in a warning tone. “It was an accident. She apologised. And it wasn’t even her fault, you should have paid attention as well.” He said, stepping backwards as well, his hand reaching out to gently grip her arm and Daphne couldn’t help but to half hide behind him.

That Kyle Guy looked terrifying. He was broadly built, like a tank and maybe wasn’t as tall as Luke but probably weighed the same.

“And I know that Oliver would be upset if he heard you talk to his cousin like that,” Luke continued, something in his voice that Daphne couldn’t place. “I certainly am.”

She watched how the other guy sneered at them and then there was an ugly smirk on his face.

“Wow, you really made a downgrade with that,” he commented and Daphne couldn’t help but flinch again at the way the words cut. Like she ever would have a chance with a guy looking like Luke. “Does she at least have other…benefits?”

Daphne couldn’t help but turn bright red by the implication of that. She wasn’t…she…

Luke didn’t react other than grit his teeth, his face a stark shade of white.

His hand was on her arm then, guiding her away and she let him, wanting to go hide somewhere.

And then suddenly, there was nothing more than what sounded like a growl, before she was backed against the wall, Luke right in front of her, as Kyle had apparently reached for her.

The sudden movement disoriented her and she could only stare as it seemed like Luke seemed to nearly shake, his body turning blurry at the edges.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. And that should have terrified Daphne but she could just stare at Luke in fascination as he stepped forwards, towards Kyle. She couldn’t see his face but she saw Kyle’s face and there was fear in his eyes.

That one simple step had screamed “Don’t try anything with me.”

“Now what seems to be the problem here?” A woman asked suddenly, maybe in her mid-sixties, grey hair cut into a bob.

“Mrs Pritchard,” another guy said and Daphne turned her head, unable to realise that suddenly they weren’t alone anymore, but more people were lurking around, apparently watching the drama that was unfolding.

“Jason, you seem to be cool-headed, tell me what happened here?” Mrs Prichard, probably a teacher asked the brown-haired guy who pulled a face.

“Daphne accidentally ran into Kyle. She apologised and when Kyle didn’t stop to berate her, Luke interrupted. And then Kyle implied that…that Daphne was sleeping with Luke and Luke turned around to go away. And then Kyle reached for Daphne,” he exclaimed and for a moment Daphne wondered, where he knew her name from.

“Now. Kyle, into my office. Right now,” Mrs Prichard said calmly.

“Now.” She repeated herself again when Kyle didn’t move. Finally, he did walk away but not without throwing another venomous look at Daphne.

“I’ll take care of that, he won’t bother you again,” The woman told her kindly. “I promise most of us are nice.” She looked at Luke, her eyebrows furrowed. “Luke, do you need the school nurse?” She asked and Daphne stared at his back only to finally see the muscles relax slightly.

“I am fine,” he said, turning towards her, giving her another smile. “Let’s go to English class.”

She just nodded silently, shaken up from that and followed him like a lost puppy, letting his hand on her elbow steer her towards the Englisch classroom.

“Who was he?” She finally brought out and Luke just sighed.

“Kyle Wilder. Senior. On the football team with Oliver and me and having an anger management problem,” Luke explained to her. “He gets into fights constantly.”

Great. And exactly that guy Daphne had managed to piss off before class had even started.

“I didn’t mean to run into him,” she whispered, her fear spiking again. Why did things like that always happen to her? She just wanted to hide in the background and for people to leave her in peace. Was that too much to want?

“I know you didn’t. And if he would get his head out of his ass he would know that too,” Luke told an edge to his voice, sitting down on a double desk near the window and prodding her in the seat next to him. She went bemused and sat down, as careful as she could shrugging out of her coat.

“Aren’t I…taking the seat from somebody?” She asked him, staring at the white tabletop because she had trouble imagining that Luke didn't have people queuing to sit next to him.

“You aren’t,” he told her, a sunny grin on his face and she was left staring at the table again, not quite sure what that was meaning. Why was he so nice to her?

Ollie and Grace arrived then, handholding, sitting down in the row behind them.

“Everything alright?” Oliver asked her and she opened her mouth but was unable to bring the words out.

“We had a run-in with Kyle,” Luke said, his voice dark and Ollie raised an eyebrow.

“What did he say to you?” He asked her and Daphne just shook her head, not wanting to…

“Oh, he just implied that she was a whore and sleeping with Luke. Called her a downgrade from Haley and then asked Luke if at least she had other benefits,” the brown-haired boy from before said happily. “Luke looked ready to kill him.”

“Jason,” Luke said warningly but the Jason just shrugged.

“I just mean, I wonder if he’s suicidal. That's the only explanation I have for why he would be trying to taunt him…” Jason continued thoughtfully.

“I…I think I need to kick the hell out of him,” Ollie said and Daphne shook her head. He couldn’t get into trouble for her. Not for that.

“No, Ollie,” she protested. “It’s fine.” Daphne had heard worse.

“It’s not. It’s not even remotely fine,” Luke said darkly, a near shudder running through him, which resulted in his sister reaching out for him. They had a conversation only conveyed through raised eyebrows until Luke finally shook himself out of it.

“Just ignore him. And if he doesn’t stop I will talk with him,” Ollie promised.  
  
“Ollie…” Daphne protested softly again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Luke said. His voice was even, maybe pleasant. “He won’t bother you again.” And that was a promise.

Daphne couldn’t help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at that. But the weirdest part was that she wasn’t even scared of him. She should be. She should be terrified of him at that moment but she wasn’t.

“Daphne, Jason by the way,” Ollie introduced the brown-haired boy with a wave and he gave a bright smile showing all of his teeth.

“So, how is Fairbury treating you so far?” He asked her.

“It’s nice,” Daphne answered hesitantly.

“Jason, leave the poor girl in peace, she isn’t interested,” another girl said, throwing her backpack on the table next to them. She was tall and dark-haired, her skin darker as well and she moved with every bit off self-confidence a person could have.

Even when her hair and skin colour differed from Grace and Luke, her features…they were similar enough that Daphne wondered if they were related.

“You always take away all my fun, Kiana,” Jason told her with a huff and she just raised an eyebrow.

“It’s for the best. We don’t need to scare Daphne away before she has been here for a week,” she told him amused and then turned towards Daphne.

“Hey, I am Kiana,” she introduced herself. So she was related to Grace and Luke, because wasn’t that the name of there cousin? “We have Art club together later today, while the rest of them go play fetch.”

Daphne nearly started laughing at that, especially the incredulous looks that were earned by both Ollie and Luke.

“It’s football,” Jason cried and Kiana just raised one eyebrow.

“It involves a ball and you running, I don’t see a difference,” Kiana gave back drily and then looked at Daphne again.

“I am sure we could find you somebody hotter than Jason as well,” she told Daphne conspiratorially, who turned bright red and then started coughing because she had swallowed her own spit. What?

“Oh, what about Noah? Or Caleb?” Grace jumped in and Daphne felt like she was in some kind of…alternate universe?

They were trying to set her up. On a date. With some guy.

Daphne’s romantic experience was exactly zero because everybody that she had ever met had either ignored her or picked on her and she also hadn’t had the time for a boyfriend. Nor the…ability to get herself one.

She wasn’t pretty enough for anybody to notice her and that was not going to just suddenly disappear even when…

“I think Noah would be an option, they would make a cute couple,” Kiana agreed looking at Daphne shrewdly who felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. “How do you like blue-eyed surfer boy types?” She asked her.

“Both of you, why don’t you let her go to school for a whole day before you try to set her up?” Ollie saved her before she needed to answer.

“Or do you prefer girls? I am sure we could…” Kiana started and Daphne could just shake her head. No, she wasn’t interested in girls either.

“No, I just don’t…” she brought out. “Really, I am not interested.”

At least Kiana didn’t seem to be angry about that. “We can try again in a few weeks.” She shrugged. ”Why don’t you take a look around and see if there is anybody that interests you? We can wrangle an introduction.”

“Grace knows everybody _**and**_ the best gossip,” she told Daphne with a wink.

“Why don’t you try to set up Luke? He could need the help,” Jason joked.

Somehow Daphne had trouble believing that. Luke seemed to be universally well-liked, was popular, the quarterback of the football team and looked like…He looked good.

She tried not to dwell on how good.

Dark blond hair that was cropped short, the same hazel eyes his sister also had, tall and muscular. He was very…handsome. Daphne could admit that.

“No, thank you,” he said seriously, which surprised her. Apparently he and…Hannah? Haley? (Was that her name?) had been together for a few months.

“What about…” Kiana started to suggest but Luke cut her off.

“I am really not interested,” he said sharply and Kiana just shrugged.

“Calm down, Luke, then you don’t,” she told him a laugh.

At least, finally, the teacher arrived, a young woman with the name of Miss Beaton and Daphne was left stuttering out an introduction before she was allowed to sit down again and then tried to catch up with what the rest of the class had been doing the last few weeks.

It wasn’t too difficult and she could follow the lesson easily, something that calmed her at least slightly. The lessons weren’t that much different than they had been in New York.

Afterwards, she followed Luke along to Math and History class. He didn’t leave her side for a single moment, introducing her to people as they went along. Just as his sister, he seemed to know everybody, trading jokes and greetings throughout the hallways and Daphne could just watch that with fascination. Never in her life had she spent time with the popular kids. It helped that she not once she saw any of them pick on another person. Fairbury High seemed terribly civil in contrast to what she was used to.

Bullying didn’t really seem to be entertained for any amount of time. It was nearly utopian.

After History, she had French with Grace, who amused her with her comments about half of the people they met before she grew serious again.

“Feeling any better now?” She asked Daphne gently when they arrived in the French classroom and she nodded.

“It’s…It’s nice here,” Daphne answered honestly. It was nice. Really nice. She liked it in Fairbury.

It was…startling how much. She didn’t miss New York City at all. To be honest, she didn’t even want to go back to her old life. That probably made her a terrible human being.

“It is. You’ll grow to like it. I am sure it’s not as exciting as New York, but the people are great and we find stuff to do on the weekends,” Grace told her with a smile. “Ollie mentioned that we should do some renovating next weekend or so. Apparently you still don’t have a desk.”

“It’s fine, really you don’t need to…” Daphne protested. Her room was fine, she didn’t need anything else. Really, everybody had already done more than enough for her.

“You must be…Luke’s new toy.” Daphne looked up to a girl that looked like she was Snow White come to life. If Snow White would sneer at her.

She was beautiful. Black Hair that fell down her back in thick curls that Daphne knew must have come from a curling iron because no human had curls that looked like that naturally. Her lips were painted bright, cerise pink and her eyes were nearly black as well, a dark, dark brown.

“And you are?” Daphne asked, not knowing where that bravery suddenly had come from.

“His girlfriend.”

…so was that Haley?

“You aren’t. He dumped you nearly a month ago,” Grace gave back with a snort. “You should have known better than calling me a bitch, Haley.”

Oh wow.

Somehow Daphne had no problem believing that Luke would get livid if somebody said something against his sister. It was quite obvious that these two adored each other.

“Yeah, well, we can all see he is really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days,” Haley huffed and Grace just smiled, while Daphne once again stared down at the table.

Great.

Why not throw some more insults in there?

“At least he is no longer together with an arrogant and egocentric little girl,” Grace said, never once raising her voice.

“I would be careful what you are calling me,” Haley snapped.

“And you should be careful who you insult. Move along, Haley. Neither I nor Daphne need to listen to this,” Grace said calmly, glaring at Haley, who opened her mouth to say something else but then thought better.

“So much for “the people here are great”,” Grace sighed.

“Can you teach me how to glare at people to make them go away?” Daphne asked her seriously and Grace just laughed.

***

Luke had kept a strong grip at his anger for the remainder of the day. He hadn’t dared to tap into his senses again, not when he could feel how the wolf was just waiting for the opportunity to take over and take out his anger at Kyle.

So he had instead concentrated on seeing Daphne at lunch, where she had sat sandwiched between him and Grace and had seemed more relaxed than he had ever seen her before.

She was slowly getting through her lunchbox that had Caroline’s smell all over it and he got out his own lunch, happily eating the sandwiches his mother had packed him. Smoked chicken that time apparently.

His mother had this habit of cooking far too much for even them to eat so the whole pack knew that if they came to their house, they would get food and get fussed over for an hour or so.

There were also two chocolate muffins in there and he put one of them on the top of Daphne’s lunchbox.

“Chocolate Muffins?” She stared at him, bright blue eyes that seemed nearly violet right in that instant and he chuckled when he heard the excitement in her voice.

“My mother tends to bake. _**A lot**_ ,” he emphasised and watched with no small amount of contentment how she took a healthy bite of it. That had been the first thing he had seen her seem excited about the prospect of food.

She closed her eyes for a moment and he watched amused how she took another bite, chewing again.

“Oh, that’s good,” she said, and he couldn’t help but laugh at that pleased face she made at that moment.

He was quite pleased with himself. His mate was happy. And he had made her that way.

“Thank you,” she thanked him and he just nodded with a smile, ignoring the warmth spreading through his chest.

“How was your day until know?” He asked her and she shrugged, her excitement dying down a bit.

“I like the teachers, they seem nice,” she told him timidly and he was just about to ask her what else had happened, when his sister sighed.

“We had a run-in with Haley as well. Now Daphne has officially met all of the members of Fairbury High’s chamber of horrors,” his sister huffed. “Were you thinking when you were together with her?” Grace wanted to know and he opened his mouth to answer only to be beaten to that by Jason.

“Oh I am sure he was thinking, just not with his brain,” his friend joked and he just rolled his eyes.

“Jason,” Luke huffed. “And no, I wasn’t,” he admitted. “Worst decision I ever made.”

“Well, you can learn from your failures,” Jason offered with a wink and Luke just chuckled amused by that.

“Oh, I am planning to,” Luke answered. “So, what else are you going to do today, Daphne?” He changed the topic and she just shrugged.

“Nothing. Do homework, paint something else maybe…” She laughed softly, the sound surprising to him. It was light and high, like a tingling bell. “I am boring,” she added.

She didn’t see herself clearly at all, did she?

“I wouldn’t call you that,” Luke said and she looked at him startled. The bell rang at that moment.

“Have fun in for the rest of the day,” he told her with a smile before standing up.He had statistics now, while his sister had drama class and Ollie and Daphne would go to their creative writing course.

After that, it was time for football training and he caught up with Ollie in front of the gym.

“Are you okay?” His friend asked him, so quiet that no human would be able to hear it. “You didn’t have a problem shifting against your will for years.” Apparently that had made the rounds. He thought back to that moment in the hallway, the wolf fighting to get to the surface, growling and heat in his chest, and how Luke had needed to force the shirt down. The anger had seemed to be a nearly sentient entity in his body and that hadn’t happened…in years at this point. He had always had a near-perfect grip at the animal that lurked under the surface but right now…right now…his wolf had decided that he was much better suited to protect Daphne that Luke was.

“I…Kyle pissed me off,” he answered truthfully. “He scared the shit out of Daphne and then reached to touch her.” Alone the thought of that was enough to let the anger start to boil again.

“I don’t know what he planned to do but I don’t care either,” Luke growled. “If he touches her against her will, I am going to beat him up.”

“I’ll help,” Ollie added darkly.

What Luke hadn’t thought through though was that Kyle was in the football team and Luke needed to be in his near vicinity for the next hour and a half.

He did his best to ignore it, ignore the growling and the feeling of possessiveness that run through his chest.

Daphne was his. And Kyle better left her in peace or he was going to regret it.

So Luke did nothing else but glare at Kyle. He may be made every appearance of ignoring him but Luke could smell his scent tinted with fear.

Good. Kyle better feared him.

Ollie had apparently decided that he was going to lay down the law with Kyle and waited exactly until the locker room was getting empty after practice.

Then Ollie went right up in Kyle’s face, shoulder back, teeth on display and Luke watched it even when he wanted to be the one to do it.

He wanted to be the one to put the fear of god into Kyle, to make it clear that Daphne was his and off-limits.

“Leave Daphne alone. If you won’t, you will regret it,” Ollie said, barely controlled rage in his voice.

“Threatening me, Hyde?” Kyle taunted and that was enough.

Luke was not exactly _**proud**_ that he was the one pushing Kyle right back into the locker and keeping him in place with one hand in the middle of his chest.

“It’s a promise. You say another word to her, look at her, make her uncomfortable in any way, and you will regret it. If you lay a single finger on her, you’ll be happy to survive that,” he growled.

“Have we made ourselves _**clear**_?” He asked, sneering.

“Crystal,” Kyle answered quietly.

“ _ **Good**_.”


	9. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Funeral happens and Luke has a conversation.

_**The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but never the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.** _

_Elisabeth Kübler Ross_

On Thursday afternoon Daphne had done her homework together with Ollie, Luke and Grace, sandwiched there between the Schuyler siblings. She and Luke had done their Math homework together, easily able to manage it between the two of them.

On Friday, she had gone to school again, had ignored the glances and whispers as people still saw her as the new girl. She had ignored it to the best of her ability. She had given Kyle and Haley a wide, wide berth, not in the mood of another confrontation. And otherwise, she had just stayed quiet.

Art club was great as it pretty much meant she could do whatever she wanted and could go ask Mrs Foster, the art teacher every question she had.

And Kiana was great as well, happily introducing her to anybody they met.

Still, when Friday evening came…she knew that she couldn’t keep on ignoring what was looming on the horizon.

She sat down in front of her window after dinner, leaning against the footboard of her bed, ignoring the dull ache that this resulted for her back.

Daphne could do this. Somehow she was going to get through that day tomorrow, without breaking down. Somehow.

She started with pencil. She knew exactly what she wanted to paint. That wouldn’t be a problem. Not really. There was only one truly perfect day that she could remember with her mother.

Daphne couldn’t remember how old she had been. She must have been young, not yet in school. Maybe 3? 4?

They had gone to Coney Island. Daphne couldn’t remember why. She couldn’t remember much of that visit. She remembered the sandy beach, the Ferris wheel, the bright blue balloon she had held on to…she remembered chocolate ice cream.

But most of all, she remembered her mother’s hand in hers. She remembered the sine of the sun, the smell of sun screen and the ocean, and the feeling of Michelle holding her hand.

It was a snapshot of a memory. Daphne couldn’t remember more than a few seconds of that. She remembered nothing else of that day, only that.

She remembered that moment with total clarity though.

She painted the Ferris wheel in the sunset, a silhouette of her mother in front, in black charcoal. Daphne couldn’t bear to put her mother in colour to try and match the colour of her hair or her blue eyes or the colour of the sunny yellow blouse she had worn that day.

Daphne worked on it until it was dark outside, even when Caroline came to tell her goodnight. She worked on it until her back hurt, her hands were aching and her eyes burning. Only then she stopped, setting the charcoal and crawling into bed.

The day of her mother’s funeral came bright and early.

Caroline was flitting through the kitchen doing god knows what, while Oliver was fighting with his tie until Matthew took pity of him and Daphne watched the tableau of a happy family from her place from the kitchen table. She felt like she was a viewer intruding into something she had no right to.

They tried so hard to carve out a place for Daphne and still…it didn’t seem real. It didn’t seem like it could be right.

Life in Fairbury was so easy. There was no worry about money, no worry about being quiet or her mother would go on one of her rampages. It was easy. Too easy.

And then it was time to go to church and suddenly it wasn’t easy anymore.

Daphne wore a black knitted dress, one of the things they had bought on the shopping trip and a black coat that Caroline borrowed her.

They arrived, were greeted by the priest and then she stood in that church, a congregation fo people around there that she didn’t even know, that she couldn't have remembered ever meeting.

She didn’t cry. She had thought she would, but all of it seemed to be so far away. Everything seemed to melt away.

There was Daphne herself and then there was that invisible wall that kept everybody away from her.

Nothing seemed to reach her. It was the same glass box she had felt just shortly after Michelle’s death.

There was a dark casket in the front of the church that held her mother’s body but Daphne didn’t…she couldn’t believe that.

She didn’t want to.

The priest droned on and on about life and death and resurrection and mercy and Daphne only stared with morbid fascination to that casket that held Michelle’s body.

She sat between Caroline and Oliver, Caroline having started to silently weep just after the priest started speaking. The only thing Daphne could muster the strength to do was to lay her hand on her aunt's arm while she continued to cry into Matthew’s shoulder.

She watched as her mother’s casket was carried out of the church, Ollie and Matthew being two of the pallbearers.

Her aunt kept a near painful grip at her hand as they followed the casket to the cemetery was tucked away behind the church.

Caroline was crying, heart-wrenching sobs escaping her. Daphne couldn’t.

Her mother’s casket was lowered in the grace in that section of the cemetery where other members of her family had been laid to rest over the years.

The names there meant nothing to Daphne.

But as she watched the casket being laid to rest, the priest continuing his service, there was one feeling that slowly blossomed in her chest.

Relief.

Relief that Michelle was dead and couldn’t lay another hand on her.

Relief.

Relief hat Daphne didn’t need to worry about paying for water and electricity anymore that she didn’t need to have three jobs and go to school anymore.

Relief that her mother was dead and couldn’t hurt her anymore.

Relief that Daphne would never need to carefully throw away the empty whisky bottles.

Relief.

Daphne was disgusted with herself for feeling that.

She stood there, stone-faced and quiet, not a single tear escaping her.

She threw the dirt on the casket when it was her turn. And then the drawing she had made, that fluttered to lay on top of it.

It seemed like half of the town was awake and attending that funeral to pay their respect.

She wondered if they did that because of her mother or because Caroline and Matthew seemed to be well-liked by practically everybody. Probably the second reason. Her mother hasn’t been home in Maine for nearly 20 years before her death. And Daphne doubted that anybody actually cared that she was dead.

Her aunt still cried, while Daphne just stood next to Ollie staring emptily in front of herself.

There was a wake at the house later, Daphne having taken to sit on the couch and staring down at her lap.

The people left her in peace mostly, muffled conversations going on. Oliver still didn’t leave her side and she saw him glare at everybody that dared to approach her.

She was alone now. Utterly and completely alone.

People said they were sorry for her loss and suddenly she was so angry. So very angry.

Because she wasn’t sorry for her loss.

Was it even a loss? Yes, Michelle had died but she couldn’t hurt her anymore. Something that had become more common with every passing week.

Why was she supposed to be sad that Michelle had died?

***

The funeral was bad. Just like Luke had predicted.

Caroline’s scent of grief and sadness and devastation filled the church and Luke sat next to his sister, whose eyes never once left her mate. Luke’s concentration was split between Daphne and surveyed the room.

Daphne’s scent was there as well but it wasn’t…in comparison to Caroline, her very much human scent was far less obvious and a whole lot less devastated.

Caroline cried throughout the whole church service, while Daphne just stared to the front, her face completely slack, not betraying a single emotion.

The church service went off without a hitch. Thankfully.

He watched Ollie and Matthew and his father carry the casket, joined by three other members of their pack.

He watched Caroline clutch at Daphne and Daphne just stay as absent as before. Her eyes were empty, vacant and the only thing Luke wanted to do was to wrap her up in his arms.

He wanted to put her somewhere safe and hold her there until she looked at him with something other than this vacant expression.

He hated this. Hated this with every fibre of his being. His mate was upset and he couldn’t do a single thing to fix it. He was used to fixing things.

And at that moment, he just wondered if she wasn’t broken so badly that there was nothing to fix anymore.

When he stepped forward to drop dirt onto the casket, her drawing was already half covered. He could see the muted colours, the silhouette of a mother and daughter there, in front of a Ferris wheel…and he could feel the grief in that picture.

There was a wake at the Hyde’s House later, the whole house being filled with what seemed to be the whole of Fairbury awake and attending.

Caroline was crying hysterically on the back porch, Matthew and his mother trying to comfort her. He could hear all of that, and he wasn’t the only one.

Oliver and Daphne were sitting on the couch in the living room, Daphne not even lifting her head if anybody approached and seemingly just having completely shut down.

“This was a terrible idea,” Sebastian commented in a huff and Luke tended to agree with his uncle’s husband. It was a terrible idea if that was anything to go by.

He turned to watch the two of them again, Ollie growing more agitated. It didn’t surprise Luke at all. If his own mother would be crying and his sister seemingly having shut down completely, he doubted that he would be able to be actually reasoned with.

Right now, he just wanted to be near his upset mate.

“I’ll sit with her,” he decided. If nothing else, at least he could keep anybody from approaching her. “Grace?” He asked his sister who just nodded thankfully.

“I’ll take Ollie outside,” she whispered.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Luke?” His uncle cautioned him, a hand on his arm. He needed to push down the instinct of growling because his wolf felt like Uncle Drew was keeping him away from his mate.

Luke knew that was ridiculous. Andrew only worried about Daphne, like every member of his pack did in their own way.

“I highly doubt I can make it any worse,” he sighed and then steeled himself to make his way over.

***

“I’ll…I’ll go look after mom. I…Luke is going to stay with you, alright?” Ollie whispered and Daphne just nodded.

Ollie left her alone, his place being taken by Luke nearly immediately. She felt the sofa dip again

“My sincere…” he started but she just shook her head.

“Don’t.” She pressed out. She couldn’t bear to hear that right now. She lifted her hands to her face, burying it in them. She just wanted…

“How many of these people actually knew her?” She asked Luke, distracted herself. Why had they even bothered to show up?

“They aren’t here for her. They are here for Caroline and for you,” he told her softly and she looked at him startled.

He wore a black suit and black tie with a white shirt, a sharp departure from what she had seen him in before. He seemed far older than the 17 he was at that moment to her.

“They don’t know me,” Daphne protested. Why would they show up for her?

“They don’t,” he allowed. “But they can give you the respect of showing up.” They could give her mother the respect of showing up and Daphne couldn’t even give her mother the respect of actually feeling upset about her death.

She buried her face back in her hands, not wanting to look at anybody.

“I am a terrible daughter,” she whispered. She felt relieved about her own mother’s death. She felt like she wanted to die herself for that.

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Everybody deals with grief differently,” Luke finally said, his voice soft, obviously trying to soothe her and that just made her angry. She didn’t deserve to be soothed.

“I know. I heard the whole yadda, yada from the therapist they made me see,” Daphne told him. “Your feelings are valid, whatever they are,” she repeated cynically.

“They are,” Luke whispered. “Your feelings are valid. You aren’t a bad person for feeling like you do. You aren’t,” He repeated.

For some reason that was it what shattered the glass box. The first sob broke through her and then he touched her shoulder softly.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he soothed her and she couldn’t help herself but lean into the touch.

Luke didn’t pull back, he pulled her against himself in a tight hug, settling her head against his shoulder.

He was warm and solid and smelled like salt and surf and she buried her face in the fabric of his jacket. Daphne sobbed against his shoulder, not caring in the least that she was crying against somebody she didn't even know.

“I know it doesn’t feel like that, but you are going to be fine,” he whispered, one of his big hands cupping her head.

Her control finally snapped and all of it overwhelming her.

He made soft shushing sounds when she continued to cry, one arm around her waist, his other hand holding the back of her neck.

She felt safe.

For once in her life, she felt safe. Like this. In the arms of a boy, she didn't even know, but something told her that she could trust him. Trust him with this and let him comfort her to the best of his abilities.

Even when everything was too much, he was there holding her tightly.

Daphne let the pain rip through her, for once not trying to push it down. It felt like her heart was being ripped in two parts, slowly but surely. She couldn’t take, she couldn’t bring out another noise but sob louder.

Sob after sob escaped her, muffled through Luke’s shoulder. Daphne didn’t know how long she cried against him.

Finally, the sobs stopped, her whole body still shaking against Luke’s but she didn’t want to move. The tears kept running, unable to be stopped.

“Daphne,” he whispered. “Why doesn’t Kiana help you upstairs and you can take a nap?” He asked her.

A nap? That seemed to be the best idea she had heard in months.

She lifted her head from his shoulder, wiping away the tears that kept running.

“Thank you,” she brought out, unable to look at him. He probably thought she was some kind of total nutjob now.

“Whatever you need,” Luke gave back calmly and she stared at him as he reached out to wipe away another tear from her cheek.

“Go take a nap, Daphne,” he told her, the voice soft but somewhat in there that made her want to do just as he had told her.

***

His cousin kept an arm around her, walking her up the staircase and he looked after her, not being able to keep a grimace from his face.

She wasn’t dealing well with this.

He had expected this. Of course, he had. Her mother had died. Of course, she would be upset. She had grief to deal with.

But there was more. Something else. He couldn’t write put his finger on it, but something was wrong. Something that had nothing to do with her mother.

And Luke needed to know what that was before it got even worse.

“We should start encouraging people to head out,” his father commented softly to him and Luke just nodded, unable not to keep on listening for Daphne and Kiana upstairs.

Daphne seemed to have crashed on the bed as soon as it was near her and his cousin was already coming down again.

Daphne’s heartbeat was calm and steady and that calmed him, even when he would give everything to keep her there in his arms.

The memory of that would need to be enough for the next few weeks. He had breathed in her scent, had felt her warm body next to his. She was fine. Physically.

Physically she was fine and she was safe and it was going to be fine.

Luke would just need to continue telling himself that.

Kiana slipped down the stairs then, arriving at his side.

“She’s asleep,” Kiana told him quietly and he nodded. “Just knocked out as soon as she saw the bed.”

“Dad told us to start to empty the house,” Luke told her softly.

“I’ll let the rest of the pack know,” she answered with a sad smile.

Slowly but surely the house started to empty, helped by 80 percent of the attendees being werewolves, who had noticed that this wasn’t going well at all.

Kiana said her goodbyes together with her father, Luke’s Uncle Richard and his Aunt Lucille.

Ollie and Grace arrived a few minutes later when the house was empty apart from Luke and his father and Luke could smell the forest all over them. Grace had probably talked her mate into going for a run, marking the territory.

“Where’s Daphne?” Ollie demanded to know and Luke just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s taking a nap upstairs,” He gave back calmly. He watched Oliver take a deep breath, smelling his surroundings and then zeroed in on Luke.

“Why is her smell all over you?” Oliver asked him incredulously.

Luke opened his mouth, trying to think on an answer that didn’t sound…as intimate as what really happened. Kiana decided to be not helpful.

“She cried on Luke for around ten minutes,” Kiana said amused of all things and Ollie grew furious.

“What did you do?” He growled at Luke.

“Ollie.” Grace put a hand on her mate, trying to keep him calm. Luke’s wolf was not amused at that growling, while Luke himself could understand Oliver’s reaction but was dreading the result of this.

He somehow doubted that his final admission would go over well.

“I didn’t do anything,” Luke said, a warning tone in his voice, the alpha wolf creeping in and telling Ollie that his behaviour was not appreciated.

“She doesn’t need…She doesn’t need to get her heart broken from you. She’s off-limits for you,” Ollie snapped at him. It was a punch to his stomach but Luke didn’t outwardly react to it.

He pushed down as hard as he could, not reacting to what he recognised as a challenge to his fledgeling mating bond. He didn’t growl at Ollie, telling him to fuck off or even growled. He just looked at his friend.

“I am not playing with her.” This was the only sentence he pressed out.

He wasn’t playing with Daphne. Daphne was his damn future. She was going to be his wife, the mother of his children if Luke had one single thing to say about this.

He was never going to play with her, or use her as a distraction as he had been prone to do before. Daphne was far too important for that.

“That’s even worse. She’s human, Luke. She isn’t your mate. Leave her alone,” Ollie demanded and Luke could just keep himself from rolling his eyes.

Yeah right. She wasn’t his mate. That’s why he wanted to roll himself around in his scent.

“The only girl I am interested in is my mate,” he said. Luke was very much aware that he was mincing words at that point. And Ollie would be furious when he finally found out the truth.

“So what, you are going to stay abstinent until you find her or something?” Ollie snorted, suddenly amused and Luke just glared at him.

“Why don’t you let me worry about that, Ollie?” Luke snapped back, taking a deep breath.

“Look. I am never going to hurt her. She’s your little sister, Ollie,” he stressed. “I was not doing anything but offer comfort.”

“We have all done that over the last week and she has just ignored us. And you come along and suddenly she is crying all over you?” Ollie uttered and then shook his head before Luke could say another thing. “I am sorry. This wasn’t fair.”

“I know that this is difficult, Ollie. I am not out to hurt her,” Luke assured him.

He knew the reason why Daphne had cried all over him. The Mating Pull was there for her as well and she recognised him as somebody she could trust. A part of her, a tiny part recognised him already.

Caroline finally came back in the living room, her eyes red-rimmed and her scent salty.

“We’ll leave you alone now,” his mother announced, hugging Caroline who just nodded.

“Thanks, Cece,” she whispered.

“I’ll…I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ollie asked Grace, who nodded her agreement, kissing her mate softly and then saying her goodbyes.

They left the house, walking the 5-minute walk home and his father caught him by the back of his neck after around 30 seconds.

Luke felt like an unruly cub that needed to be taught a lesson by his alpha.

“Since when did you know?” He asked Luke calmly who couldn’t help but whine softly in response.

His father knew. He had figured it out.

“Luke,” his father repeated, the alpha wolf making it clear that he didn’t enjoy being kept waiting.

“Can we talk about it this evening, please?” Luke asked and the pressure on the back of his head disappeared.

“No, but we can go for a run if you are worried about people hearing,” his father suggested and Luke was more than happy to take that olive branch.

They got home, Grace disappearing to her room and his mother going to the kitchen. Luke let the shift take him over. The feeling of heat and pressure a welcome change. Four paws were where just seconds before arms and legs had been and he waited until his father appeared at his side to start running into the forest.

They stayed silent for a little while, just running parallel to the coast until finally, Luke felt the pressure of his father’s mind brush up against his own.

*Are you going to tell me now?* His dad asked him, sounding decisively amused and Luke couldn’t help but growl quietly.

 _*Daphne is my mate,*_ he admitted. It was the first time he said, thought, the words out loud and the moment he did, he knew they were true.

 _*Are you sure?*_ His father asked him and Luke just looked at him incredulously.

_*Yes.*_

_*I just want to make sure, Luke,*_ his father gave back with a soft laugh. _*Congratulations, son.*_

 _*What does she smell like to you?*_ his father asked him amused and Luke just snorted.

* _You know when Gran used to make Pineapple upside-down cake?_ * he asked, waiting to feel a bit of amusement from his father. _*_ ** _Exactly_** _like that.*_

 _*That's_ ** _very_** _specific, Luke,*_ his father commented.

They made their way across the stream, quiet again for a little while.

 _*What do you want to do now?*_ His dad finally asked him

 _*She doesn’t know about us,*_ Luke gave back.

 _*We were planning on telling her either way. With her living with Matthew and Caroline we can expect that she will find out,*_ his father told him, the big grey wolf seemingly shrugging. _*And I would prefer it if she gets to hear it from us and not cooks up some version in her head._ ** _Especially_** _now.*_

Luke knew what his father didn’t tell him. If she started to fear him, then the mating pull could get destroyed. She could start to despise him. And once that happened…there wasn’t a way back.

 _*This really couldn’t be a worse time for her,*_ Luke whispered. He hated this. Hated to put this on her at this time, hated that he couldn’t do anything against it.

 _*Maybe. Maybe not.*_ His father stopped walking and then looked at him calculating. Amber eyes staring at him. _*You are her mate. You are a comfort like no other to her.*_

_*She wanted you in her space. She kept herself away from her family but three minutes after you sat down next to her you had her crying in your arms. She instinctually knows that she can trust you.*_

That was true. And the wolf was quite happy about that. But still…Luke worried.

 ** _*Don’t betray that trust, Luke,*_** his father warned him sharply.

 _*I won’t,*_ he promised. Not ever.

 _*We can wait a few weeks, can’t we?*_ Luke couldn’t keep himself from asking and his father seemed surprised by that.

_*Are you_ **_sure_ ** _you want to wait?*_

No, he didn’t want to wait. He wanted her with him constantly and right now he would give everything to be able to offer her every bit of comfort he could.

Even when it was frustration, it would be better in the long run.

 _*I…I want her to feel better. At least slightly.*_ Luke growled in frustration. _*And putting the whole werewolf issue on top of burying her mother and dealing with her grief…it won’t end well.*_

 _*It surprised me that she didn't know about werewolves actually. Her mother was a born one. Surprising that she wasn’t,*_ his father commented absentminded. _*Alright. We can wait a bit. Will you tell Grace or your mother?*_

Luke only shook his head. He couldn’t. Not without also telling Caroline and Matthew and Oliver and that…not right now. Not right now.

_*Not yet.*_

The dark grey wolf agreed with a nod.

 _*I am happy for you. It’s all going to work out,*_ His father told him softly.

Somehow he doubted that even when he didn’t want to.

He wanted to be wrong but somehow he thought that things were going to get worse before they would get better.

Daphne would need time and he could giver her at least that. At least that.

He couldn't fix the rest of her problems but he could just not pile any more on top of it. And maybe, maybe it would work out.

He had never hoped for something more. 


	10. Chapter 7

**_Love all, trust a few and do wrong to none._ **

_William Shakespeare_

He went to hide in the barn after that talk with his dad.

There was something to love about a room filled with old furniture and absolutely no human contact.

_Wow, he was really turning into a hermit._

Ollie would have a field day with that. Well, if his friend was ever going to talk to him again after he had found out that Luke hadn’t told him the truth for weeks.

That was not something he was looking forward to.

But once he was in the barn, he was actually contemplating making something. He couldn’t fix anything for Daphne. There was nothing left to fix.

He could, however, give his mate something that she needed. Something that she would like…

He could do that.

***

When she woke up from her nap, she buried her face in the pillow and didn’t move.

She should probably go take a shower, get in her pyjamas and then go to bed for real, but Daphne couldn’t find the strength for that. She was too tired, too exhausted…it took too much effort.

That was the crucial point…It took too much effort for not enough results.

“Daphne?” Came her cousin voice from the door and she turned looked up from the pillow. “There is dinner downstairs if you…” he suggested softly and she dropped her head back to the pillow.

“I am not hungry.” She whispered. Not at all. Alone the idea of food…she hadn’t eaten more than a few bites this morning, but she still wasn’t hungry. She knew she should eat, especially now that there actually was food there that she could eat…now that she didn#t subsist on a diet of ramen and whatever was in the clearance bin at the little Cornershop.

“You need to eat,” Ollie said, stepping into his room and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Are you…Are you feeling better?” He asked her, tripping over his words and she just nodded. It was sweet that he asked. Even when she felt like she was never going to be better.

All of it was just…

“I heard you cried all over Luke,” he commented, managing to make her blush scarlet red and utter and complete shame flow over her.

Great. She knew that most people had seen that as they had been sitting in the middle of the living room but still. She had cried all over that boy that she didn’t even know and he had been nothing but nice about it. Right now Daphne would like for the floor to swallow her up.

How was she supposed to face Luke on Monday? 

Or the rest of the school…because half of her classmates had been at that funeral as well.

“Hey, don’t be…embarrassed about that,” Ollie told her but she just buried her head in the pillow again.

“He probably thinks I am some hysteric little girl now,” Daphne groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Great. Just the impression she wanted him to have.

“I doubt that. Luke isn’t like that,” Ollie snorted but then grew serious. “And you shouldn’t care what he is thinking either.”

“He’s your friend,” Daphne gave back. And she really didn’t need to have the Quarterback of the football team to start talking about her hysterical breakdowns. Thank you, she would like to be left in peace for at least a week weeks of her High School careers.

“He is,” Ollie agreed with a smile. “Let’s go for Dinner. Come on you need to eat something.”

Daphne finally sat up, mostly because she didn’t want to anger Oliver and less so because she was actually looking forward to eating anything.

But hey…any food would be better than she was used to.

“Is Caroline…any better?” She asked quietly and Ollie shrugged.

“Mum stopped crying…Now she’s just freezing all the food people brought over,” he told her, while she stood up and rightened the duvet on the bed before she followed him down to the kitchen. Just like Oliver had said, Caroline was in the kitchen, placing what looked like around 20 different casseroles in the freezer.

Matthew was sitting on the kitchen island, reading but looked up when they entered the room.

“Daphne,” he greeted her with a smile.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Caroline asked her and she could just shrug.

“I’m fine,” she answered softly. Daphne really wasn’t but to be honest, she had no idea what she was feeling in that moment. Relief?

“Ollie, I can’t eat all of that,” she exclaimed when her cousin placed a plate piled high with what looked like Lasagna and salad in front of her.

“Just try,” Matthew told her amused. “You need to eat something today. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you ate three bites this morning.”

She sat down at the island, taking a bite of the lasagna, Ollie sitting next to her and prodding a glass of lemonade nearer to her as well.

Daphne smiled at him in thanks and in the time that her cousin managed to clear two plates, Daphne was halfway through her own.

Finally, she pushed it away because there was no way that she would be able to actually finish it without making herself sick. Caroline took it from her, wrapping it up and placing it in the fridge.

“I’ll go over to Grace later…Do you want to come?” Ollie asked her but she shook her head. Daphne had enough from other humans for the day.

“No, thanks. I just…Can I go down to the beach for a bit?” She brought out hesitantly.

“Of course, honey,” Caroline answered.

Daphne went upstairs, changing in Jeans and a shirt, needing to grind her teeth against the pain in her back and then went back downstairs.

Caroline’s voice floated from the kitchen.

“Go for a run with Grace, that’s a good idea for both of you,” she said at that moment as Daphne reached the first landing and she stayed quiet for a moment. Run? Did Ollie go jogging or something? Well, that probably made sense, he was on the football team.

“How are we going to do tomorrow?” Ollie asked and Daphne’s eyebrows went up. What was tomorrow?

“I don’t know. We’ll…We’ll figure something out. We can probably leave her alone for an hour or two,” Caroline answered, sounding doubtful.

“And it’s not weird at all that we all go out around ten in the evening?” Ollie snorted.

…What was in Fairbury to do at 10 on a Sunday evening? There was a diner, an ice cream shop and that was it? And none of that would be open at 10 on a Sunday Evening? Were they in some kind of religious sect or something?

“We’ll figure something out, Ollie,” Matthew said quietly and Daphne shook her head.

Weird.

She didn’t think about it for longer, grabbing her Parka and slipping on her boots to get down on the beach.

The air was colder than it had been a few days ago and Daphne pulled up the fur-lined hood over her head, burying her face in the red scarf she had wrapped around her neck as she slowly walked around the waterline. The waves were higher, the ocean rougher. It matched her mood.

She was completely alone there thankfully. Nobody that expected her to have a grip on her emotions or expect her to handle her mother’s death well at all.

She wasn’t. She was relieved and angry at herself and the world. She wanted to scream and shout and punch something but there was nothing. Nothing.

She kicked against one of the rocks at the beach, the small pebble managing to fly a few feet until it hit the sand again.

Why did this need to happen to her? Why? Why didn’t she have a normal family why didn’t she had parents that loved her, why hadn’t she grown up in a nice little suburban house with a white picked fence and a dog?

Why was it her that needed to deal with all of that?

She was still one of the lucky ones, she knew that. Her aunt and uncle had taken her in, no questions asked, were doing their very best to make Daphne feel welcome in Fairbury and she was so very thankful for that.

She didn’t want her old life back. Not really. She didn’t want to work 3 jobs and need to be the one who actually managed to buy groceries.

Still, she missed New York. She missed the hustle and bustle of a big city, she missed the old apartment, which she knew was ridiculous.

All of it was ridiculous. She had a bigger room than she had ever had before, she didn’t need to worry about food or rent or electricity…all of these worries had been struck from her mind suddenly. She had new clothes that actually fit her, she had new school supplies, there was no other thing she needed to do but to go to school and do her homework…her life had been simplified a lot.

Daphne would just need to grow used to it. She had 2 more years of school in front of her and then university or whatever else she wanted to do with her life.

Grieving her old life wasn’t going to help her in any way shape or form.

She would just…she would enjoy this new worry-free life and just ignore everything else. She could do that.

She could do that.

She turned to walk back to the house and she could feel the hairs at the back of her neck stand up. Suddenly, suddenly there was the feeling that she was being watched.

 _Don’t be stupid, Daphne,_ she scolded herself.

She still walked back towards the house, having decided that she had spent enough time outside and would go to bed early.

***

He watched her from the forest, hidden among the trees, laying there and just for a moment watching his mate walk along the shoreline. He was very much aware that he was being a stalker at that moment.

The worst part was that his wolf was terribly content for the time being, attentively listening to their surrounding and protecting that little human that was already starting to become the centre of their world.

Luke had spent far too much time in the barn, had then finally answered his phone when his sister had called him to let him know that she and Ollie were going for a run and if he wanted to come with them and had declined that invitation because he really could imagine a better way to spend his time.

So he had gone for another run that evening, letting his wolf pull him in the direction he wanted to go. Of course, that just so happened to be near the Hyde’s House.

And the moment he had caught a glimpse of Daphne there had been absolutely no way to get away from her again. So he had laid down on the ground and just watched for a little while.

She was upset. That much was clear. Her whole body language screamed that. He had yearned to comfort her again, to do something, anything that would make her feel any better.

In any other situation, it maybe would have been amusing to watch his mate stomp her way across the beach in a snit but right now it really wasn’t.

She turned around suddenly and for a moment she stood still before suddenly she was walking back to the house, quicker than she had before.

Maybe she had found some peace with her situation. He could only hope he did.

He got up from the forest ground shaking the leaves off that clung to his fur and with one last glance at her as she reached the house he turned around, slowly walking back home.

 _*Hey, Luke!*_ There was his sister’s voice, her small grey body suddenly appearing through the trees, followed by Ollie.

 _*Hey,*_ he greeted her, wondering if his scent was clinging badly through the place he had just laid for at least 30 minutes.

 _*Are you coming over tomorrow morning? I know there is a pack run in the evening…*_ Ollie asked and they both nodded. Luke thoughtfully looked away when Ollie and Grace said there goodbyes and then looked as Ollie started towards his home.

 _*Where did you hide this afternoon?*_ Grace asked curiously as they both made their way towards home.

Great. That answer was not going to go over well probably.

 _*The Barn. I built Daphne a desk,*_ Luke answered, trying his best to seem as nonchalant as possible about it. It hadn’t been…that much work.

He had used an old kitchen worktop as the tabletop because that would be able to be cleaned easily and he figured that would make sense with her and her art and then had spent far too much time constructing the table “legs” which were actually chest of drawers from some old wood they had laying around. It had taken nearly 5 hours for the desk to finally take shape.

 _*Why?*_ Grace asked him, sounding incredulous and he just snorted.

 _*Because she needs one?*_ He gave back, with a shake of his head. Daphne needed a desk, Daphne would get a desk. If it was anything in his power to give her, he would happily do that.

 _*That’s…nice of you,*_ Grace said, her voice telling him far more than her words did. He looked at his sister for a moment, her amber eyes meeting his own and he shook his head.

 _*Don’t ask,”_ he warned her.

 _*Why not?*_ Grace answered, incredulousness apparently.

 _*Because I am not going to lie to you and you don’t really want to know the answer,*_ Luke answered honestly. Their house became visible through the trees then, while Grace stayed quiet.

 _*Fine. I’ll leave you to your woodworking skills…and I am there if you want to talk about it,*_ his sister finally snorted. __  
  
***

The next morning, they had breakfast together and while both Caroline and Matthew went to their respective offices, Daphne had offered to do the washing up, being joined by Ollie, who dried the dishes, while she washed them.

There was a loud honking from outside, resulting in Daphne letting a plate slip back in the water, thankfully not breaking.

“What’s that?” She asked Ollie, who was hanging up his dish towel and was already halfway through the hallway before she was finished shutting off the water.

“That’s Luke and Grace,” he called back and Daphne went after him at a more sedate pace.

…There were some things she didn’t need to see and Ollie and Grace snogging the hell out of each other was one of them.

Oliver had been right and it were Luke and Grace, Luke currently walking across the back of his Pick-Up Truck.

“Hey,” he greeted her with a smile, while he hefted what looked like a ridiculously long piece of wood up.

“Hey,” Daphne brought out, unable not to stare at his forearms that weren’t covered by the fabric of his green sweater.

The muscles were currently moving underneath the strain of holding that piece of huge wood.

“Ollie, I could use your help,” Luke said, sounding not strained and more amused but thankfully Ollie came around before Daphne needed to try and help Luke. That probably wouldn’t have gone well.

Together Luke and Ollie somewhere manoeuvred what looked like a long and slim tabletop off the Pick-up Truck and in the house.

“What is this?” Daphne finally dared to ask. What did they want to do with that slab of wood?

“Your new desk,” Grace answered, grabbing what looked like a chest of drawers from the back of the Truck.

Wait, what?”

“He _made_ it?” Daphne brought out. He _made_ her a desk? People did that?

“He’s quite good at things like that,” Grace answered absentmindedly, handing that small drawer to her, that nearly made Daphne go to her knees because it was far too heavy.

Grace somehow managed to carry two of these chest of drawers up to daphne’s room without even Breaking a sweat.

They went back to the house, upstairs to Daphne’s room where the long piece of wood, the tabletop, now laid underneath the window, Luke and Oliver already screwing things down and constructing the rest of her new desk in what seemed to be a well-known partnership by now.

“Where did you learn how to do that?” Daphne brought out as she watched how Luke screwed another thing down, kneeling doxt to him after she had gotten that drawer finally down on the floor.

“Dad has an unfounded hatred for Ikea,” Luke snorted amused and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh.

“Our whole family does work in the construction business. Dad has the habit of making every single piece of furniture from scratch,” he explained, fitting the wood together easily.“We grew up with that.”

“Put the drawers under the window…one on each side and one in the middle,” Luke told her. “The tabletop is too long for it to go without support in the middle.

Grace helped her move the drawer into position while Ollie and Luke finally lifted the top on it.

And suddenly Daphne had a desk.

It fit perfectly underneath the window, the top bright white, the surface a bit pebbled and obviously easily apple to be wiped down. The chest of drawers that worked as legs were a dark wood, all three of them different from each other. One of them was filled with slim drawers, another one just had one big door and a third one were three big drawers.

“You like it?” Luke asked her and she could just nod.

“It’s beautiful. I..I don’t know what I am…” What she was supposed to say to him after he had…“Thank you,” she finally brought out.

The words seemed lacking to her after he had spent god knows how long doing this for her.

Just because he could.

“He takes payment in M&M’s,” Grace threw in. “He’s slightly obsessed with them.”

“I am not,” Luke gave back, visible exasperated and Daphne could only laugh. M&M’s. She could do that…or maybe something else…

“Thank you,” she thanked him again but he just grinned at her.

“I am happy if you like it,” he told her, sounding completely truthful.

“I adore it,” she told him, trying to convey her thankfulness in these three words.

“So…wanna try out that new desk of yours and actually get started on English homework?” Ollie offered and she couldn’t try but laugh again but nodded her agreement.

They spent most of the morning in her room finishing up the homework for the upcoming day, Caroline sticking her head in around 12 with a plate of muffins and oohing and awing about Daphne’s new desk.

Luke and Grace said there goodbye in the afternoon and Daphne spend far too much time organising her desk to her liking.

“Daphne?” Caroline asked softly and Daphne looked up from her started watercolour painting. “There is a…neighboorhood meeting this evening…we’ll be back in a few hours, okay?”

Daphne nodded her agreement.

It was already…9 in the evening..a neighbourhood meeting? Really?

Daphne just shrugged. Whatever it really was, it wasn’t any of her business and she wouldn’t stick her head somewhere it didn’t belong. She would happily finish another painting tonight.


	11. Chapter 8

_You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star._

**_Friedrich Nietzsche_ **

Monday morning came far quicker than Daphne wanted it to come. And with that…it was time to face school and with that everybody that had seen her cry all over Luke at the funeral.

And as much as she wanted to hide it didn’t seem like any of them were going to let her do that.

Oliver and she drove to school together, like they always did, her cousin telling her all about the football game that would happen on Friday evening and Daphne made noises to indicate that she was listening, even when she only understood every second word.

She had never watched a single football game. Why should she? But apparently the whole family always went to every game, so Daphne would spend her Friday evening in the stands next to some football field.

_(Would it be very terrible of her if she decided to bring her sketchbooks and a few pencils to that match? Probably not, right? At least then she wouldn’t die of boredom.)_

By the time they arrived at school, Daphne had tried to tell herself that it wouldn’t be that bad.

_Yeah, right._

At least Luke and Grace were already waiting for them, leaning against the black pick-up truck that belonged to them.

And while Ollie and Grace were once again doing there best to starve each other of all air, Daphne was happy enough to talk to Luke, who still seemed completely nonchalant about her crying all over him.

He didn’t mention it once, entertaining her with the newest gossip that was going on, brightly smiling at her and Daphne was more than happy to go along with that.

They made their way into the school, reaching their lockers when their topic of conversation also turned to that football game.

“So are you going to come to our game this Friday?” He asked her excitedly and Daphne chalked that up to his and Ollie’s Y-Chromosome. The crazy excitement for running after a ball needed to be some kind of biological thing.

“I will. I’ll even promise to cheer for you even when I have no idea how the game works or who even is the other team,” Daphne told him, putting most of her books and art supplies in her locker and only keeping the ones she would need for the first few lessons.

“We are the Fairbury Wolverines and we are playing against the Riverside Rebels," Luke explained happily. 

"You are the quarterback, aren’t you?” Daphne asked him and watched how he seemed to preen under that it was amusing and adorable at the same time. 

“I am. It’s my third game this season.”

“Have you won any?”

“We won them all,” he answered her. “Maybe you can be our lucky charm this time.”

“If you won all the games this season I doubt you’ll need me as your lucky charm,” Daphne snorted amused. “You seem to do well enough on your own.”

“Who says no to a lucky charm though?” He asked her, grinning and Daphne couldn’t help but blush. He seemed to have the ability to make her blush and stutter like some kind of idiotic little girl.

Why did he need to be so damn pretty?

Because maybe he wouldn’t be so disconcerting if Daphne didn’t want to stare at him all the time. Her fingers ached to draw him, to try and translate his face to a page, the green eyes, the brown hair, the sharp jawline.

“Daphne?” His voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she shook her head, trying to shake off that line of thoughts.

_Stop it_ , she chided herself. _You can’t go around and have a crush on Ollie’s best friend. And it’s not like you would ever have a chance with him._

“Everything alright?” He asked her gently and she put a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I was just…”

“Far, far away?” He ended her sentence with a smile.“Let’s get to our English lesson.”

She happily complied with that, following after him and taking the seat next to him. She liked English class, easily followed along and only when they were paired up to work in pairs for the rest of the week Daphne was dreading it.

There had been no reason for that though, because before she had an opportunity to even turn around, Luke had already decided that they were going to work together. That was probably the best news of that day.

They had most of the lesson in the morning together and Daphne enjoyed that. He was easily one of the best students in the class and so every time Daphne had a question he was easily able to answer it or show her the pages in her book that would explain it in more depth to her. 

The lesson before Lunch was French together with Grace, who caught her up on the newest gossip about people that Daphne still didn’t know.

Daphne did by now know most of their bigger friend groups in school, including Kiana, Jason Collins and also Olivia Morgan and Wesley McKnight who easily pushed Ollie and Grace from their first place as most affectionate couple.

Grace already went to lunch, while Daphne searched for the restroom, thankful when she finally managed to find it. She was just washing her hands when she heard the door open, not bothering to look up.

“Keep your hands off him,” that were the hissed words that caught her attention, when Haley Webster came to stand next to her.

“I don’t know…” what you are talking about. It was a lie, of course, Daphne knew what Haley talked about.

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly who I am talking about,” Haley interrupted her but Daphne just shook her head and kept washing her hands.

Really, couldn’t she just be left in relative peace?

“Do you really think you have any chance with Luke?” Haley asked her, sounding amused and laughed a high tinkling sound. Her words cut like a scalpel though, exactly chosen to give the most possible hurt. And Daphne could just listen and hope that Haley wouldn’t realise how much these words actually did hurt Daphne.

“He’s a junior and he’s still the quarterback of the football team. He’s well-liked by practically everybody…and one day he’s going to inherit the biggest construction firm in the state. He’s worth **_millions_**.” The way Haley said that made it clear that all of that…all of that were the things that she cared about. She didn’t care that Luke was smart and sweet and thoughtful. She didn#t care that he was loyal and took care of his friends and even whoever was connected to them, however loosely that was. She didn’t care about how Luke was the patient big brother to his sister, always indulgently smiling at Grace.

Haley didn’t care about that, Daphne realised at that moment. She cared about the status that being Luke’s girlfriend would bring her. She cared about what it would be like to be Luke#s girlfriend and probably prom King and Queen.

“And you think he would throw a second look **_your_** way?” Haley continued and Daphne still didn’t lookup.

He wouldn’t. She knew that. She was content to be his…friend. That would need to be enough for her. Anything else never would go anywhere.

“Luke is **_mine_**. Keep your hands off him. It’s embarrassing that you are even trying,” Hayley snapped and finally Daphne looked up and just shook her head.

“I am not trying.” She wasn’t. She was aware that she had a snowflake’s chance in hell and to be honest, she didn’t want to embarrass herself more than she had already done. And she also…it was safe to have her little crush or whatever it was as long as he was as unattainable as he was. She would be his friend.

“You cried all over him at your mother’s funeral. Nice acting by the way,” Haley snorted and Daphne needed to bite back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. It hadn’t been acting. None of it had been acting. All of it had been her emotions getting the better of her. And even the idea of…trying to manipulate anybody with her grief was making her want to throw up. “The little hysterical crying girl…did you think he was going to have sympathy with you?” Haley continued to taunt her.

She didn’t react. By now Daphne had learned the painful lesson that standing up to bullies never went the way she wanted it to be.

Still, there was heat in her chest unfurling, something pressing against her skin from within and she bit her teeth to hold back the fury that wanted to overcome her.

“The only reason he even talks to you is pity,” Haley whispered. “So you are going to leave him alone and you aren’t going to try and…seduce him or whatever you were doing a pretty bad job at.”

***

Something was _off_.

Daphne was even quieter as usual when she finally arrived for Lunch, slipping into the seat between him and Grace and got out her sketchbook and her lunchbox but seemingly ignored everybody else at the table.

He left her to it because he had no idea what else he was supposed to do. At least that was until he caught a whiff of her scent and caught Haley’s scent all over her.

Haley wouldn’t have…or would she?

It probably shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. If Haley had cornered Daphne to talk to her…he could make an educated guess to what exactly had happened and it pissed him off.

Haley saying anything to his mate was already making him see red.

Who did she think she was that she had the right to have any opinion at all about whatever relationship he and Daphne had?

He looked over to Daphne again, now drawing what looked like a cow in her sketchbook.

Whatever made him angry, if he just watched her small hands move over the page, her completely in her own little world that seemingly nothing could reach, he felt better.

She was safe and content and tucked against his side he knew he could keep her that way for the moment.

“I have no idea why you enjoy football. If you want to play fetch I even throw your ball,” Kiana snorted at that moment, Ollie just rolled his eyes.

“ ** _Woof_**.” The barking sound he made sounded eerily real. What was that about now?

And the rest of their table had decided to be assholes as well that day.

_“_ Oh, I have a **_wolfish_** appetite today, _”_ Jason announced when he finally sat down. Luke glared at him but the other werewolf just happily smiled at him.

Did he really need to have a talk with them to knock off their dog metaphors?

Apparently he did if Ollie’s continuing talking was any indication.

From _”Let’s hope everybody has got their vaccines and doesn’t get_ ** _rabies_** _”_ over _“Well, you should never cry wolf either way”_ to _“Luke hopefully doesn’t start hunting rabbits again like he did the last time.”_

“You hunt?” Daphne asked him softly and he glared at Ollie, who just shrugged.

“We all do,” he answered her honestly. There was no use in lying to her. She was going to need to get used to them and their quirks if this was supposed to go somewhere. She nodded thoughtfully, seemingly filing that information away somewhere, but didn’t seem to upset by that realisation.

“Rabbits are cute…” she finally said and he sighed softly. And there came the city girl out.

“Not if there are too many of them,” he told her. “That’s not good for them nor nature. It’s not…we don’t kill for sport, Daphne. All of it actually gets eaten.” That was the first thing that their father had taught them. They didn’t kill for fun. The killed for food. They killed only as much as they needed and as quickly as they could so the animals wouldn’t be in pain.

“Why do you do it and not buy it from the grocery shop?” She asked him, real interest painting her voice and he wanted to groan.

Trying to explain to her how it was a prideful thing to do, how it felt to provide themselves and their pack with food…that wasn’t really possible.

“We prefer to know where our meat has come from,” he finally told her and she nodded her understanding. He hadn’t managed to completely scare her away. **_Yet_**.

“Do you also have chickens? For eggs?” She asked him and Luke could just stare at her for a moment. He was still surprised how well she took this.

“A **_wolf_** robbed the chicken coop the last time we tried,” Ollie told her calmly. What Ollie didn’t mention was that it had been a group of 5 of the younger members of the pack and it had been an actual bloodbath. Also having feathers stuck in your teeth in wolf form was everything but fun.

Still, Luke glared at him but Ollie just shrugged his shoulders.

“What are you playing at?” He hissed at his friend on the way to football training nearly 2 hours later. That was the first time he had actually gotten the opportunity to talk to Ollie, who just snorted.

“I figured we would hurry up her introduction to the supernatural world. She didn’t seem too interested at it though.”

“Geez, I wonder why?” Luke snapped. “For god’s sake, Ollie, don’t you think she had enough things to worry about?”

Her mother’s death. Thrown headfirst into life in a small town. Him. And through all of that Daphne just looked…scared. Her scent had a bitter tinge to it the whole time and Luke didn’t like it. At all.

It put him on edge, searching for an imaginary enemy that didn’t really exist as Daphne’s fear seemed to skyrocket at a lot of random things. If people got too loud he watched her clam up, if somebody moved too fast. 

“I don’t want to keep it a secret from her. It’s not helping anybody, least of all her,” Ollie told him, crossing his arms. “We told her we had a neighbourhood meeting to come over for the run on Sunday. She believed it, Luke,” Ollie snorted. “So either she’s dumb, which I don’t think or she’s around as perceptive as a loaf of bread.”

“Or maybe she wants to believe that we tell her the truth,” Luke said softly. Daphne seemed to desperately want normalcy. Craved it even. She wanted to go to school even when he knew that both Caroline and Matthew had offered to hold her out of it for a few days. She wanted to move on, to leave her old life behind her. New York or her mother was never mentioned in any conversation. She didn’t talk about it.

“One reason more to tell her,” Ollie commented. “I don’t want to lie to her any longer,” he finally admitted.

“Wouldn’t we all?” Luke sighed. What would he give to just be able to tell her the truth and know that she wasn’t going to run away screaming from him? What would he give to just be able to ask her out on a date and tell her that he liked her, that he wanted to spend time with her?

He didn’t allow himself to go down that path for very long though. It wouldn’t help him. Right now, the best thing he could do was to give her freedom to find whatever bit of happiness she could have, help her find her footing here in Fairbury…and then he would need to rip off the bandaid and tell her the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

“I just doubt that dog jokes are the way to go,” he finally joked to Ollie who stuck out his tongue.

“Whatever, I am _hilarious_.”

***

Apart from that run-in with Haley early in the week, Daphne just tried to keep her head down. It worked well enough for the remainder of the week. She answered if she was called up in class, did her homework after school and when Ollie, Grace and Luke did god knows what in the evenings, she curled up on her bed and draw.

It had started to get colder though and as November had officially started, it wouldn’t take much longer until the first snow would come.

Daphne was actually looking forward to that.

Snow would be nice.

Friday evening they drove the 40 minutes to Riverside to watch that football game that the whole school had been waiting for with bated breath.

What she hadn’t expected though was that Kiana would just literally hand her younger sister named Talia and then go away to buy popcorn.

Caroline and Matthew were left talking with some other parents and now Daphne stood in front of that school, a 4-year-old, black-haired, brown-eyed girl next to her.

“Kiana!” She called after her friend because children were really not…Daphne never had much contact with them apart from one terrible time trying to babysit her neighbour's kids.

It hadn’t ended well. At all.

Her friends didn’t react and Daphne wanted to curse her out but turned around to the little girl at her side.

“So…do you want to go inside already?” She offered from the lack of a better idea. At least they could sit down there, right? And they wouldn't be jostled by so many people.

Talia nodded shyly and Daphne offered her hand which she happily took, still keeping a tight hold of her stuffed animal. It was a bunny the look after.

They managed three steps before they were nearly run over by somebody who didn’t even offer an apology, resulting in Talia pressing herself against Daphne’s leg and her wondering how that was going to end.

“Am I allowed to lift you up?” Daphne asked her because she figured she should probably ask before she did that. Talia looked at her, big brown eyes huge and lifted up her arms.

Lifting Talia up had been a great idea in theory, while in practice, this was really not great. There was a ripping pain in Daphne's back and she was unable to keep a soft gasp from escaping her mouth as she did her best to settle the little girl on her hip who happily threw her arms around Daphne’s neck.

It _hurt_.

She had thought her back would have gotten better, the bruises had healed up well enough by now, but the cuts that the belt buckle had left were still there, deep and tender and Daphne would be money that she just managed to rip one open again.

“Let’s go find our seats then,” Daphne told her, putting on a smile and ignored the pain still stabbing her back with every move she made.

She managed to get on the stands and then find the right row quickly enough. Right now it was still empty but Daphne knew that it probably wouldn’t stay that way.

She let Talia down as they reached their seats, helping her out of the pink coat she wore and then shrugged as carefully as she could out of the small bag she had worn and her coat as well.

Talia looked at her expectantly, probably expecting her to do something with her. Problem was only that Daphne had no idea _what_.What did 4-year-olds do for fun?

“Do you want to draw?” Daphne finally asked because that was the single thing that she had actually the supplies for.

Thankfully she hit smack dab in the bullseye with it.

“Yes!” Talia cheered, garnering looks from the few people around her and Daphne got out her sketchbook and happily handed it over to the girl as well as giving her a pencil.

She watched Talia happily draw for a while, something that looked like a bunny, that only had one ear was quickly enough joined by something that probably was supposed to be a fox.

“Can you draw me something? Please?” Talia asked her shyly and Daphne easily nodded her agreement, getting another pencil and taking the sketchbook when Talia handed it to her.

“Sure! What do you want?” She asked her.

“A dragon!” Talia decided near immediately and Daphne smiled at that.

“A dragon, hmmm.” The pen easily slid over the page, leaving a dragon in its wake. Daphne didn’t try to make it seem realistic, exaggerating the eyes and the head to make it look cute. “What should we call him?” She asked Talia.

“It’s a she!” Kiana’s sister decided quickly enough. “What are dragons named?” She asked Daphne, who shrugged as she added some scales down the dragon’s chest and finally a pair of horns.

“YOu can call her whatever you want to call her,” she told Talia. “What about…Foxglove?” She suggested after a moment thought. A flower name seemed nice.

“But she’s a dragon and not a fox? And she doesn’t wear gloves?” Talia asked her adorably confused and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s the name of a flower,” she explained. “Like Lily or Rose.”

“I like that,” Talia decided. “What’s another flower name?

“Well, you could go with Iris…or maybe Buttercup?” Daphne suggested after another moment’s thought while she was continuing to sketch the background, a mountain and then a river, and then a castle on top of the mountain.

“Buttercup!” Talia happily agreed, staring at the picture like it was the best thing she had ever seen before.

“Do you want me to make her yellow then?” Daphne offered, pulling out some more pencils from her bag.

“No, Purple, please. I like purple,” Talia asked and Daphne nodded.

“Does she have a friend?” Daphne offered another suggestion. If this kept Talia busy she happily would fill the whole sketchbook with drawings of Buttercup and friend. “What about a Princess?” She suggested because every little girl liked Princesses, right?

“Yes!” Talia cheered and Daphne moved on to draw a Princess then, also exaggerating the style so it looked not really realistic and more like a comic.

“Princess Plumella,” Daphne offered. “We’ll even give her a crown,”

“Uncle Stephen!” Talia called suddenly and Daphne could just look up to already have Talia lifted up and happily thrown into the air by a dark-haired man.

She couldn’t place him, not really. He was tall, broad-shouldered and happy to talk to Talia. And as she called him Uncle she probably knew him.

“Hey, Tali,” he greeted her with a smile and then turned to Daphne. He looked at her with hazel eyes that she had seen somewhere before, scrutinising her for a second before he offered his hand.

“And you must be Daphne. Stephen Schuyler.” That explained why he looked like she knew him. “Luke’s and Gracie’s father.” And she had been right.

He looked a lot like his son. The same nose, the same eyes, Luke’s hair was lighter though but they were built the same.

She took his hand, the grip warm and strong and was unable not to smile.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she greeted him with a smile.

“And where’s Kiana, Talia?” He asked his niece who just shrugged.

“She’s buying popcorn. And left me with Daphne,” Talia answered and then was just as enthusiastic when a brown-haired woman appeared behind Luke’s father that looked like she was an older version of Grace.

“Hey, Tali,” the woman greeted the girl and then smiled at Daphne.

“Were you already called on for babysitter duty?” She asked her amused and Daphne shrugged with a shy smile.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Daphne answered. And it really didn’t. 

“Cecilia,” the woman introduced herself with a warm smile, putting Talia down to the ground again who happily skipped back to Daphne’s side and climbed back to her seat. 

“Daphne,”

“Oh, I know, I think everybody in this town knows your name,” Luke’s mother told her with a laugh.

“I am back! And I even brought the parents with me!” Kiana called loudly, arriving with far too much popcorn and soft drinks and before Daphne could do so much as blink she was right in the middle of a Hyde/Schuyler family reunion.

Caroline sat down on her one side, with Matthew with her, Kiana was next to Talia on her other side and Daphne also met Kiana’s parents, Richard and Lucille as well as the third Schuyler brother, Andrew and his husband Sebastian.

Daphne just hoped she would be able to keep all the names straight.

***

He glanced out to the spectator stands, easily spotting his family.

Daphne was there, right in the middle of it, happily chatting with Kiana and Talia, what looked like a sketchbook on her lap.

He could probably count himself lucky that she had decided to come at all.

But she was there and alone that already let heat spread through his chest, his wolf contently purring. His mate was there, had shown up for him and he was better going to win this damn game.

Or else.

It was a tough game. The Riverside Rebels gave as good as they got. And it wasn’t helped by the fact that Kyle was apparently not above thrusting a knife in his back.

They managed to get a penalty for a personal foul when Kyle managed it to tackle Luke in what he said was an accident.

Luke knew it wasn’t. The ball carrier had been nearly 6 feet away from him at the time that Kyle tackled him and they both ended up on the floor.

His knee got twisted and he could hear the sickening crunch that told him that that wasn’t good at all.

When the penalty had been called and they had fallen back far too many points…Luke had been out for blood.

He had ignored the pain, instincts taking over and they had managed to play for keeps for the last quarter. They won. The point difference wasn’t big but they still won.

And his knee was wanting to kill him. So did Matthew when his glare was any indication. Luke was pretty sure that he was going to spend the rest of that day on the couch icing that knee.

“Kyle,” he snapped as soon as they were in the locker rooms. “Do we need to have another discussion?”

“Can’t take some jostling, Schuyler?” Kyle taunted him and it took far too much will power not to wring his neck. _Far too much._

“Fuck you, Kyle, you know that wasn’t some jostling. You tried to throw the damn game and could have injured Luke badly enough that he wouldn’t have been able to play for the rest of the year!” Ollie growled which shut up Kyle for a moment.

“You know, I don’t like you either but at least my personal feeling towards you never impacted my gameplay. Something to think about,” Luke told him calmly, far too calmly.

He didn’t want to be calm. He wanted to drag him to the woods and then have that discussion like the pack always handled their little spats. Mostly beating the hell out of each other in wolf form.

His sister hugged him as soon as she could reach him, her arms tight around his neck.

“That was so damn idiotic, Lucas,” she whispered. She never called him Lucas. Only if he had managed to really worry her.

“It’s fine. It’s just a bruise.” He told her but she growled at him and he lifted his hands innocently.

“You sure about that, son?” His father commented as he watched him moved to the car, his knee protesting every step.

“Well, for us,” Luke gave back. For a human…that would have probably ended their sports career.

He did find himself on the couch after a quick shower, Matthew giving him painkillers and ordering him to ice that knee while his mother, aunt Lucille and Caroline were making dinner.

“Are you okay?” Daphne asked him, joining him on the couch, sounding and looking far too shy for his liking.

“I am fine,” he told her easily, icing his knee. It was more an act than anything. It was bruised badly enough but these bruises would have disappeared by the morning.

Broken bones, ripped ligaments, bruised muscles…all of that healed within 24 hours for most werewolves, at least as long as you were young and eating copious amounts of food.

“You didn’t look fine,” Daphne told him softly, nearly shuddering.

“It’s just a bruise.” At least for him. For him, it was just a bruise. Every other human’s knee probably would have been ruined for life.

It hurt some, but it would be fine if not by tomorrow then by Sunday.

“No need to worry, I am not easily breakable,” he told her, trying to soothe her. She was worried.

About him.

That much was obvious when her body language was any indicator. She had crossed her arms, hugging herself, and wasn’t really looking at him. Still, she was upset.

It was both…nice to have her worry about him. Nice was an understatement. He loved that he was apparently important enough for her to worry about and it was also infuriating that Kyle Wilder had once again managed to upset her with his stupidity.

“Hey. Kyle is an asshole. It wasn’t the first time that he tried something like that and it probably won’t be the last,” he told her, reaching out for her, gently tucking a piece of that bright blonde hair behind her ear. She looked up, looked at him with these startling violet eyes and finally nodded.

“Be careful?” she asked him softly and he nodded his agreement.

For her, he would do everything.

She slipped nearer to him, grabbing her sketchbook and opened it. It showed a dragon and a princess. It was cute and probably had been her amusing Talia for a few minutes.

“Are you going to draw me something as well?” He asked her amused and she giggled softly.

“Of course. What do you want me to draw you?” She asked him.

“Something pretty,” he told her, leaning his head back against the couch and felt her shift next to him. The painkillers had taken the edge of the pain while his body knitted itself back together and he closed his eyes as he could feel her brushing up against him.

“That’s broad,” she told him and he hummed his agreement.

“Whatever you want.”

“Not helpful either,” Daphne gave back sounding decisively amused.

“The forest. I like the forest,” he finally answered.

He watched her draw a forest then, a small river cutting through it. It was filled with animals, there a squirrel, there a raven…

“Will you put a wolf there?” He finally asked her and she nodded her agreement, drawing a wolf drinking from the river. She shaded him with the pencil that she had been working in, the wolf the darkest piece of the whole drawing.

A second wolf joined him a moment later on its other side, this one nearly white, also drinking. It was smaller than the first one and for a tiny moment, Luke let himself imagine how it would be to run through the forest with Daphne by his side.

***

He fell asleep on the couch next to her, looking adorable with a messy nest of hair.

He did wake up when they had dinner though and ate far too much which seemed to be the norm for this family.

They got home around 10 and Daphne went to her room, taking a shower and washing out the top she had worn in the sink before she took a look at her back to view the damage.

Not good. Not good at all. It wasn’t just one cut that had ripped open but three and Daphne did her best to stop the bleeding before she put on another old shirt and then her pyjamas over it.

She just wanted it to finally heal.

Sitting down at her desk, she worked to finish the drawing for Luke, tidying up some of her lines and finally setting it. She carefully cut the page out of the sketchbook and then thumbed through the pages until she found the dragon and the princess.

She looked at it, a story building in her head

It wasn’t a self-rescuing princess story, not really…it was more about a princess learning how to reign over her land, the Enchanted Kingdom. She battled her foes, with magic and wit and learned manners by the wayside of it.

She learned how to help her subjects, how to be selfless and how to have a tea party. Her side-kick, the bright purple dragon named Buttercup was by her side all through it.

It was…ridiculously comforting to tell herself the story while she drew Plumella and Buttercup. She scrawled the story on the backside of the picture, scene after scene, dialogue after dialogue.

It grew in her head, her eyes were burning but she couldn’t stop bringing it on to paper. She filled nearly three-quarters of her newest sketchbook that day.

When she finally went to bed, it was already getting light outside again.

Maybe one day…one day it would be something more than her scrawls filling the pages of her sketchbook.


	12. Chapter 9

_In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks._

** _John Muir_ **

“This is my life now. I have climbed this hill and now I will die upon it,” Ollie exclaimed dramatically, lifting his arms over his head. 

They had decided to go hiking on Sunday morning after Saturday had mostly been spent doing homework and in the evening going for a run in the forest. 

Daphne had not been excited about the hike at all. If anything she had and still was a bit snappy at him about it. Luke hadn’t quite known how to take it. 

“Shut up, we’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes,” Grace snorted. Everybody knew that it was just theatrics from Ollie because these 20 minutes even up the mountain were nothing for any of them. The only one who's breathing had become harsher was Daphne, who had spent the last 20 minutes silently at his side. 

Every time he made one step, Daphne needed to take two, her legs not being able to keep up with his much longer once easily. 

“How is your knee?” Daphne finally asked, irritation clear in her voice and he turned to see her stare in front of her, stress markers weaved in her scent. 

She was…worried? About him?

He couldn’t help but feel the warmth in his chest bloom at that. 

His mate was worried about him. 

And it upset her, which pushed the warmth down just as quickly as it had come. 

Damn. He should have thought about it. Any of them should have thought about this, that for her it had looked like Kyle had seriously injuries him and that he was taking that injury lightly. 

His knew was still twinging but after spending Saturday mostly sitting down so that he could do homework and spend time with Ollie, Grace and Daphne, it was fine now. The bruise was an ugly yellow colour by now and the swelling had gone down. 

“It’s just a bruise,” Luke said, trying to soothe her. She looked at him then, suddenly, violet eyes boring in his, a fine eyebrow raised. 

Apparently, that didn’t work. 

“It didn’t look like just a bruise on Friday,” she challenged him. He was taken aback by the sudden bravado that had clearly overcome her and so was she, because she looked down again, her shoulders hunching in on herself. 

She nearly flinched, clearly expecting him to get angry and he wanted to tell her that he would never use his anger against her like that. 

“Matthew would have never let me go if it was something bad,” he told her truthfully. He kept his voice carefully even not wanting her to think that he was angry at her questioning him. Finally, she was starting to give back as good as she got and stopped just taking it. 

And that’s what he wanted her to do. 

Suddenly, he heard her stumble and he reached out reflexively, grabbing the back of her backpack to hold her upright. 

She had her school backpack strapped to her back, filled with god knows what, but the thing was full. He had offered to swap with her but she had stared at him like he had grown a second head. 

The moment he did that, there came a pained gasp from her, but at least she didn’t manage to land face first in the dirt. 

There were conifers all around them, and the ground was hard with rocks embedded into it, not the best place to take a tumble. 

“Be careful,” her warned her, letting her go, even when he didn’t want to. He wanted to keep a grip on her, wanted to hold her hand and stake his claim. If he held her hand nobody else would think that she was available. And he had heard the whispers. 

She was pretty enough that some boys were interested in her, but most of them were warned away by her always surrounded by either him or Ollie who kept glaring anybody into submission that even seemed like he had the hint of an idea to ask Daphne anything. 

Hell, he could understand it. His mate was beautiful. Blonde hair, bright eyes, a heart-shaped face. She looked so sweet, especially when she smiled at him that he wanted to do everything to have her do that again. 

“Thank you,” she pressed out.

For a moment they were silent again, continuing their trek, Grace and Ollie in front of them, happily holding hands and chatting about school. 

They reached a fallen tree and he extended his hand to help her over it. 

Never let it be said that he didn’t take the opportunity if it presented herself. 

She blushed charmingly, her cheeks taking on a bright red colour, but she slipped her much smaller hand in his and he was unable not to grin when she climbed over the tree trunk and then let his hand go. 

He didn’t want her to let his hand go. He would have done nearly everything to hold it for the rest of that hike, feel her cool skin against his, feel the fragile hand in his own. 

“20 questions?” He offered her after a moment of thought and she stared at him surprised but nodded her assent, a slight smile of amusement on her face.

“What do you want to know?” She asked him softly. What did he want to know? The answer was easy. 

Everything. 

He wanted to know everything. 

But he couldn't very well ask her that. 

“What do you miss about New York?” He asked her and she was silent for a moment, deeply sunken in thoughts. 

Her shoulders were hunching again and he was regretting his question but before he could say something else she was already answering him. 

“Nothing.” She finally answered, her voice sounding nearly broken. “I don’t…I don’t want to think about it. Every time I do I just…I just want to aggressively ignore that part of my life,” she told him, hiding behind a cynic smile and he wanted nothing else but to hug her. 

“That’s definitely not going to work,” he told her softly and she shrugged. 

“If I look back, I am lost, Luke,” she told him, looking at him and he understood that. 

Looking back at her old life…it was pure agony for her. And if she looked back…then she couldn’t stay in the now which was the only thing comforting her. 

“If you keep ignoring your feelings like that, you will eventually break down,” he warned her softly.

She just shrugged. “How unfortunate.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and he was unable not to snort at that. 

“I didn’t cry for days after I found her,” she said suddenly and he stared at her. “I couldn’t. I was…I was empty. I didn’t feel anything.” 

Her voice sounded nearly disconnected to it all.

He had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. 

“It’s your turn.” He finally said, wanting to get her mind off it. 

“Why are you so nice to me?” She asked him, her shoulder hunching in. “You listen to me ramble on and on about stuff that doesn’t interest you, you let me cry all over you…Why are you being so nice to me?”

He would happily listen to her talking 24 hours a day. He would happily hold her just as long. She made it sound like it was a chore to be civil to her and Luke wanted to do everything to wipe out that uncertainty in her voice. 

He had known before that day that her self-esteem was non-existent, that didn’t come as much of a surprise to him. Her eyes were downcast nearly constantly and she seemed to want to do anything and everything to hide away in the background and become invisible. The problem was only that neither of them were willing to let her do that. 

She needed family. She needed somebody to tell her that she was worth something, that she deserved everything. And as much as he wanted to do that right now, as much as he wanted to tell her that she was beautiful and kind and brilliant, he didn’t. 

He looked at her for a moment and then answered with a carefully edited version of the truth. 

“You are Ollie’s family. And that makes you part of our extended family. Family needs to stick together to survive.” 

_The lone wolf dies, while the pack survives._

_***_

_Part of his extended family_. That told her everything she needed to know as what he was seeing her. Namely more like a baby sister that got on his nerves than anything else. 

Well, she should probably take what she could get. It wasn’t like she had any other option. 

“My turn again,” he told her with a grin, for a moment seemingly deep in thoughts. She watched him and was careful not to stumble again. Her back was protesting loudly since the first time and the heavy backpack on her back was not making that better in the slightest. Why had she thought that baking him cupcake had been a good idea? She didn’t know. 

_Because he had been nice to you all the time. He built you a bloody desk even when he didn’t need to because he knew that you needed one. The last thing you could do was to bake him some terrible cupcakes, filled to the brim with M &Ms,_ a voice in her head berated her and Daphne agreed silently. 

“What’s your favourite colour?” He asked her and she actually needed to think about it. 

What was her favourite colour? She liked nearly every colour. The cherry red of the scarf that belonged to Caroline that was still wound around her neck. It had stopped smelling like her aunt days ago but it was still…it reminded her off family. 

“Daphne?” His voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up startled.

“I like every colour,” she blurted out. “It changes constantly…but right now…Red.”

He thought about that for a few moments before he nodded and she was left trying to find another question to ask him. What should she ask him?

“Favourite hobby?” She finally settled on. That was fine, right? Not to intimate?

She didn’t want to overstep any boundaries…

“I like to go running,” he told her thoughtfully… “Other than that, I like playing football…well, I help to do the taxes for my dad sometimes, does that count?” He asked her and she stared at him for a moment. 

“The taxes?” She repeated. _Was that some kind of joke?_

“I am surprisingly good with numbers,” he gave back with a shrug, not showing off but saying it like it was a fact. Of course, she had noticed that by now. They sat next to each other in Math class and he was always the first one who managed to solve whatever equations the teacher had come up with that day. “Always have been.”

“You may be the only person in the world who says that taxes are your hobby.” Daphne giggled. That was probably the most hilarious thing she had heard in days. 

He blustered but she could see that he was just joking, winking at her. “I am a man of many talents,” he told her, his voice dropping in pitch and she needed to swallow before she answered. 

“I am sure of that.” Daphne brought out somehow.

“Wanna take a break? There should be a picnic table up there in a few minutes!” Ollie called from where he and Grace were maybe 20 feet ahead of them. 

“Sure!” Luke gave back happily. 

They reached the rest stop in just a few minutes, just like Ollie had said they would. 

The sun was shining, the sky was blue but it was icy outside already. Everybody was already waiting with bated breath for the next snow that was going to come. 

“I made you muffins,” Daphne blurted out as she thrust the plastic container at Luke who took it surprised. 

“You are the best,” he told her, a sunny smile on his face, looking at the cupcakes that looked like a train wreck. “Thank you.”

“Tell me that after you have tried them. My baking skills are…questionable,” she told him with a snort. Or more exactly…non-existent. She maybe did most of the cooking but that just meant that she had boiled or grilled whatever food she could scrounge up that day. Baking had never even been entertained. 

Luke took it for a challenge, happily taking one of the cupcakes and biting into it. 

“They are great.” He told her still grinning and she was unable not to smile back. 

Later that afternoon when they were back home and Daphne was taking a shower she knew one thing: 

That hike hadn’t been a good idea. At all. 

Her back was bright red, the welts standing out sharply. The cuts that had ripped open, courtesy of trying to lift up Talia on Friday were even more open, openly oozing blood now. Her white tank top was drenched in sweat and Daphne was feeling faint now. 

She would never do well with blood. 

It had only started bleeding when she had pulled the top over her head, the fabric had glued itself to her skin. It was disgusting and it hurt. It hurt so badly. 

It would heal. It had always healed before. It was going to be fine.

Daphne repeated the words that evening when even laying on her side hurt too badly to fall asleep easily. 

***

“Luke!” Oh god, please no. 

His pleading look was ignored by Ollie who just clasped his shoulder and then happily skipped away with a shit-eating grin, leaving Luke alone to be cornered by his ex-girlfriend just before lunch break. 

He would have happily ignored her but as Haley came barrelled towards him like a freight train he knew that this wouldn’t work. 

Well, if a friend train would be wearing bright pink and would happily shove her…assets in his face. 

Luke ignored what she was (and wasn’t) wearing and concentrated on her face. Maybe she just had a question about their last English lesson…

“Haley,” he greeted her, doing his best to not let his annoyance be heard. He could still be civil to Haley. Even when he really didn’t want to be. 

“I wondered…” Haley said, leaning on the locker next to him, looking at him through her lashes “Kimberley is throwing a party next weekend…do you want to go with me? I am sure we can find something to keep…occupied.” 

His wolf did not like that **_at all._** Luke needed to take a deep breath and closed his locker door with far more force than necessary when he felt the fury of the beast inside him that was growling and showing his teeth. 

_Daphne. Mine._

_Right, scale back the possessiveness by around 100,_ he needed to sharply advise himself. Haley didn’t know that Daphne was his mate. Haley was human. She was not important enough to make him that upset. 

There was no need to snap at her and tell her that he would prefer to shoot himself with a silver bullet than to go out with her. Absolutely no reason. 

“I am not interested, Haley,” he said, adding a mental _not in the slightest._ He wanted to tell Haley that there was just one girl he would happily take to Kimberley’s party and that wasn’t her and would never be her again. 

It would be Daphne. It was always Daphne. 

“Why not?” Haley challenged him with a raised eyebrow and Luke just stared her down. He didn’t need to give her a reason. And then suddenly something akin to horror dawned on her face. “You don’t want to ask _that_ girl, do you?” She spit out and his wolf growled again in annoyance. Daphne was so much more than **_that girl._** And it was getting on his nerves how Haley was speaking about his mate. With this spiteful tone. 

Luke would really enjoy to make himself _very_ clear to Haley about what she was and wasn’t allowed to say to his mate, but he couldn’t. So he decided to play dumb and let Haley dig a deeper grave for herself. 

“Who?” He asked her like he didn't know exactly who she was talking about. 

“You know who I am talking about,” Haley huffed, clearly annoyed with him but he just shrugged. 

“Clearly I don’t,” he gave back. 

“Ollie’s cousin,” Haley said, the words dripping with disgust. “She isn’t even pretty, Luke. You deserve something better than her.”

The words registered and Luke was actually shocked for a moment. 

Daphne was **_fucking beautiful_**. Pretty didn’t even begin to describe her. 

“Haley,” he said very carefully, pushing against the rage building in his chest, the wolf that wanted to show that little girl what it meant if their mate was disrespected like that. “I am just going to say this once but this,” he gestured between the two of them “…will never, **_never_** go anywhere ever again.” 

“So what, you throw our relationship away so you can go chase after some psycho girl that doesn’t talk and draws in her weird sketchbook all the time?” Haley snorted and Luke closed his hands to fists, fighting with the precarious hold he was currently having on himself. It was not going well. 

“At least she never called my sister a whore,” Luke snapped.

“You are going to ruin your reputation if you go out with her,” Haley warned him. 

Luke couldn’t help but snort at that. 

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Haley. I am no longer your problem.” And with that, he turned because if he spoke to her one moment longer, he was going to do something he was going to regret. 

He slowed his steps to the cafeteria, doing his best to control his breathing and calm himself until he reached their table. Daphne was already there, blonde hair he could easily pick out from the crowd and was chatting happily with his sister, the chair next to her free. 

“Hey,” she greeted him with a shy smile and as he breathed in her scent, all sweet and lightly tangy he couldn’t help but smile back at her. 

The smell of cinnamon and pineapple was there and all was well in Luke’s world again. 

His mate was safe and happy enough to see him and it took everything in his power not to lean down and drop a kiss to her blonde hair that was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. 

She seemed to sense his agitation though because she turned towards him and looked at him, worry obvious in these big lilac eyes. 

He had never in his life seen eyes with that colour before. They were as startling as they were beautiful. 

“Is everything alright?” She asked him softly, absentmindedly playing with her pen. 

Today it was that purple dragon again that was gracing her sketchbook, with big cartoonish eyes and his sidekick, a princess. It was cute and took his mind of anything else. 

Daphne’s art seemed to be good for that.

“Haley decided that I should come with her to Kimberley’s party,” he explained to her and Daphne seemed to think about that for a moment. 

“She’s…pretty?” Daphne finally offered and Luke wanted to growl. Not as pretty as Daphne. Not by a longshot. 

“She called my sister a whore. That disqualifies her even as friend material,” Luke told her with a raised brow and Daphne smiled softly at that. 

“Why don’t you ask somebody else?” She finally suggested. “I mean, I am sure there is…somebody who…would like to go out with you.” She stuttered the words, her cheek once again turning red at the suggestion. 

He wanted to desperately say, _Do you want to come with me?_ But he knew that that was a terrible idea. 

And Ollie would kill him.

“I need some excuse so I don’t need to come to Kimberley’s party, so Haley won’t kill me with her glaring. Ideas are welcome,” he told the rest of the table, who all more or less laughed at his predicament. 

“You don’t happen to have some movie you desperately want to see, do you?” He asked Daphne, letting desperation bleed into his voice. “I’ll even pay for popcorn.”

That seemed to be a far better evening than going to that party…and he would be able to spend it alone with Daphne. 

And Ollie would kill him when his growling was any indication. 

“Don’t you have some home improvement project you could do at the weekend?” His sister suggested and he looked over to Grace to find her winking at him. 

Oh.

Grace was so much **_smarter_** than him. 

“Want to get that wall in your room painted?” He asked Daphne who seemed to light up at the idea. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to that party? I mean…everybody seems to go?” She stuttered and he shook his head. 

No. He would much, much, **_much_** prefer to spend his time with her. Any excuse to be near Daphne was good in his book. 

“I do not want to spend more time in a room with Haley than I need to,” he snorted. It was only a slight lie. 

Of course, he didn’t want to spend any time in the same room with Haley. But the excuse to spend time with Daphne…in whatever capacity she would have him…That was so much better. 

***

Her back was aching all through the week. 

There was nothing that seemed to help, not when every time she got changed she would rip open the wounds that had started to heal again and again. She tried to keep them as clean as she could, tried her best not to move in any way that hurt but it didn’t work. 

It wasn’t helped by the fact that she could feel that she was going to come down with something, probably a cold. Her lungs hurt if she walked for long, she had started coughing sometimes by mid-week and she was generally not feeling great. 

A headache had also come, making her head feel like it was being cleaved in two parts. 

She would just take a nap that afternoon…It was Friday, ollie, grace and Luke were doing god knows what, some mention about training and football and Daphne had easily begged out of that because she had no want to take part in that. 

They had seemed a bit relieved about that to be honest and as she was already going to get on Luke’s nerves enough the next day she thought it would be better to get back to her bed earlier that day. 

And look if Caroline had seen her sketchbook that Daphne had managed to misplace somewhere. That never happened and it didn’t…she didn’t like it when that happened. 

Ollie had let her hump out of the car at the begging of the driveway and so Daphne happily walked the bit to the front door, not really registering the second car on the driveway. 

She opened the door with her key, slipping inside. 

Finally, she got out of her parka and her shoes, putting both away before she padded to the kitchen searching for her aunt and something to drink. Most of the time Caroline was on her laptop in the living room or in her office but that day she found her at the kitchen table,

“Hey, Caroline…have you seen…” Daphne started to ask and then interrupted herself when she realised that her aunt wasn’t alone. “Oh, I am so sorry.”

Another woman was sitting with her aunt, brown-haired and beautiful. Daphne wanted to draw her nearly immediately. 

Her features were sharp and well defined, her face square, light eyes but dark hair. 

There was a near…dangerous edge to her that Daphne couldn’t put her finger but then the woman smiled at her and for a moment Daphne felt like she knew her from somewhere. 

“Oh, it’s fine, honey. Did you have a good day?” Caroline asked and Daphne could just nod before she finally ripped her gaze from the other woman. Staring really was impolite, but she couldn’t help herself.

“Daphne, Leda Randall, my editor. Leda, my niece Daphne,” Caroline introduced them with a smile. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Caroline has told me a lot about you,” the brown-haired woman, Ms Randall told her and Daphne smiled at her. 

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” she said softly. “I am getting out of your hair, I just wondered if you had seen my sketchbook, Caroline?” She asked hesitantly. 

“Oh, it’s here. I am sorry, I was having a look, it laid on the table…” Ms Randall told her nearly immediately and Daphne would have like for the floor to swallow her up. 

Great. 

Somebody had seen all the terrible sketches she had made over the last few weeks. 

“It’s fine,” Daphne whispered, taking the sketchbook back, hugging it to her chest. 

“Have you ever thought about publishing it?” The woman asked her suddenly and Daphne stared at her. “The story of Princess Pumbella and Buttercup?” Ms Randall continued and Daphne wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of that questions. 

Who wanted to read a children’s story that she had literally smeared in the margins of her sketchbook, complete with terrible sketched of a dragon that looked like a giraffe half of the time? 

Nobody. 

“It’s just…I just made it up last week when I was taking care of the sister of a friend of mine,” Daphne whispered, just wanting to go upstairs and escaping all of this. 

“It’s very cute, honey,” Caroline told her and Daphne knew that this was her aunt more humouring her than anything. 

“Thanks.” She said, putting a smile on her face even when she wasn’t feeling it. “I’ll just…I am upstairs.”

“Are you okay, honey?” Caroline asked her worriedly but Daphne nodded. 

“Just tired. I’m going to take a nap.”


	13. Chapter 10

_Every canvas is a journey all its own._

_**Helen Frankenthaler** _

The nap she had taken the day before at least helped some. Her back was still hurting but at least her head had seemingly cleared up and so when her phone made her presence known, she happily got out of the bed. 

Luke and she had agreed that he would pick her up at her house and then they would do the one hour drive to Augusta and the next hardware store. 

To be honest, Daphne still wondered why he was even bothering with that and hadn’t found something more interesting to do than to help her paint the walls in her room. Well, she wasn’t going to look a gifted horse in the mouth though. He had offered and she happily took that offer if that meant that she would have something else but white walls. 

Otherwise, she would need to ask Caroline or Matthew to take her and they had already done more than enough for her. 

She knew what she wanted. A wall mural. Nothing crazy coloured, something peaceful and serene. Something nice. 

Daphne was leaning towards a forest as she was quite literally surrounded by them either way. 

She looked outside and then couldn’t help but smile as she saw that it had started to snow overnight, thick flakes slowly drifting to the ground. 

There wasn’t much yet, only maybe an inch or two on the floor but it already looked like a winter wonderland. 

She got dressed quickly enough and then pulled out some of the money that she had carefully stashed in the very last drawer of her vanity table. 

Some habits were hard to break. 

And she also felt terrible about the idea of even using that money for something as….selfish as painting her walls. 

Painting her walls had never even been a possibility before. Daphne could darkly remember that when she had been still in primary school she had used scotch tape to stick a few newspaper pages together…everything that was colourful…and had stuck that to the wall in the closet that had been her room at the time. 

It had ended up being destroyed by her mother in another one of her drunken rages like so many other things but Daphne had had it for a few months. 

But now…this here was her room. A room that actually had furniture, that had a door that worked and that she could close behind her…it was her room. Caroline told her that she could do whatever she wanted to the walls. 

And Daphne had the money…she didn’t need to buy the groceries herself anymore, didn’t need to pay the rent anymore…

She had worked hard for that money. 

And it was her room…she…she deserved something pretty, didn’t she?

She took the money with shaking hands, putting it in her bag before she went down to the kitchen. The rest of her family didn’t seem to be awake yet and Daphne wasn’t about to wake them, so she took care to be quiet. 

She made herself some toast, filled two reusable cups with coffee and then checked if she had everything. 

“Daphne?” Her uncle's voice came from the doorway still sounding sleepy. He was still in his pyjamas, brown hair a curly mess atop of his head. 

“Did I wake you? I am so sorry.” She apologised but he just shook his head and then went straight for the coffee. She watched amused how he chugged a whole cup of it before he could think straight. 

She didn’t see Matthew often during the school week only at dinner as he went out of the house before she and Ollie even woke up for school. He was busy with his doctor’s office in the town. Nearly every person living in Fairbury had him as their general practitioner and as a lot of the population was older, that meant he was busy. Very busy. 

“Luke’s picking you up?” He asked her as he poured himself a second cup and Daphne looked up surprised. Caroline had been happy enough to allow her to go with Luke but she hadn’t known that Matthew even knew about it. 

“In five minutes or so,” she told him, taking a sip of her coffee. God, she hated the bitter taste but at least it made her feel awake. 

“Here.” Her uncle held out some folded bills to her and she stared at him.

“I don’t need…really, I don’t…” They had already spent far more money on her than was needed. She could…could do this alone. 

“Buy some painting supplies, I don’t think we have anymore. And some drop cloth to protect the floor,” he told her calmly, still holding out the money for her to take, which she finally did. 

“Thanks, Uncle Matthew,” she whispered and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

At that moment she could hear an engine in the driveway and he pushed her into the direction of the door with a smile. 

“Go have fun,” he told her amused and she grabbed her parka and the two reusable cups

“See you later…” she gave back with a smile as she walked out of the door, looping her scarf around her neck. 

Luke was just arriving in front of the house and Daphne happily skipped the last few steps to his pickup truck, opening the door and climbing in. 

“Good Morning,” she greeted him, unable not to smile at him. As he smiled back at her she was just thankful that she was already sitting and her knees had no chance to get weak. 

_Damn it, Daphne. He was your cousins best friend and you have absolutely no bloody chance with him. Stop having your ridiculous crush on him that won’t go anywhere. Ever,_ she berated herself. 

“Good Morning,” he gave back as well. Daphne could hear the smile on his voice.“Do I smell coffee?” He asked and she laughed softly, handing him one of the reusable cups. 

“You are the best,” he told her theatrically, taking a sip and she just shook her head at his antics

“It’s black, I don’t know how you drink it normally,” she said, filling the silence for a moment and he put the cup back in the holder, as he backed the car out of the driveway. 

“Black is fine. I am never going to say no to sugar though,” he told her happily as he turned the car and they started driving out of Fairbury. 

“So where do you want to go?” Luke asked her. “Lowe’s or…” he trailed off and Daphne shrugged.

“Who has the bigger paint selection?” She asked and that seemed to amuse him.

“Lowe’s it is then,” he told her, making the music louder and then nearly flinching when some kind of screaming with guitar solo came out of the radio. 

“You can change the music if you want to,” he told her with a sigh and she happily started to flip through stations. 

“What do you normally listen to?” She asked him, finding something less loud than what there had been.

“Whatever Grace likes. She has some very definite idea about what is worth listening to,” Luke answered with a roll of his eyes and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh at that. That sounded like Grace. 

They finally found some stations with some terrible oldies that both of them tried to sing along with pretty terribly. 

They had fun. Far more fun than Daphne was used to having. 

“Thank you for doing this. I am sure you have better things to do than to play cab driver for me though,” she said softly when they had quieted down a bit. 

“Nah, not really,” he told her with a grin. “So what’s the plan for that wall?” Luke asked. 

“I am thinking I want a mural. Something pretty.”

“Flowers?”

“I thought about it but I think I want something more…peaceful. Maybe a forest…”

“I like the forest. Sometimes it’s the only place where I feel like myself,” Luke admitted and she looked at him surprised. He was watching the road in front to them, them having stopped at a red light. “The sound of freshly fallen snow under your feet, the trees…the peacefulness and the knowledge that you are completely alone…” there was something in his voice that Daphne couldn’t place, not really. But it was obvious that the forest was important to him. So very important. 

“Do you want that all around the room?” He asked her suddenly, changing the topic and pulling her out of her line of thought and she shook her head before she realised that he wouldn’t be able to see her. 

“No, I am thinking the forest should be behind my bed…that’s the biggest uninterrupted wall I have…and then the other walls in a blue colour…like the sky in the mural…” Daphne tried to explain and he listened to her with a nod. 

“I have absolutely no artistic bone in my body but it sounds beautiful,” Luke told her honestly and she couldn’t help but snort at that. 

“You built that desk out of scraps, maybe you should rethink that. Paint is not the only medium you can use for art,” she commented pointedly and he shrugged, a blush working it way up his neck. 

He was embarrassed. That was probably the cutest thing Daphne had seen that day.

“Do you always use…acrylic paint? At school you mostly use pencil…”

“Mostly because that’s the easiest to take along. I also love to use watercolour because you have no control of over it. It just happens and you need to roll with the punches… I love to use charcoal for the same reason Acrylic paint is nice for more controlled works. And coloured pencils because that easy to get…” she cut herself off before she went on a ten-minute rant about painting supplies and their pro and cons. She doubted he wanted to hear that. “Sorry, I doubt you want to listen to me ranting about…”

“I asked,” he interrupted her gently as they arrived in front of the hardware store, parking the car. 

“Let’s buy some paint. And supplies,” he told her and she jumped out of the car only to be then dragged over to the shopping carts by Luke. Of course, he didn’t pick a normal one but one that was clearly made to carry bigger things as it had a platform and not a basket. 

“Hop on,” he told her with a nod to the cart and she stared at him. 

“I hope that’s a joke,” she finally said but he just grinned. 

“Nope.” He popped the p, still grinning at her. “Never did that?”

“I don’t think I ever even was in a hardware store, to be honest,” Daphne snorted but after another moment of holding his gaze she finally groaned and gave in. She did step onto that shopping cart, holding on to the handles and cursing when he started to push it as she needed to hold her balance. 

“Wow, you really had a deprived childhood” he commented.She did. He had no idea how much. 

Still, she reached back to poke him and then cursed once again as she forgot that she actually needed to hold onto the handles. 

He just laughed behind her, happily pushing her through the aisle.

At least the hardware store was nearly empty, so nobody would actually see that. Apparently, not a lot of people wanted to go hardware shopping on a Saturday morning, which she could understand completely.

“Big city girl, no hardware stores in sight…what the next thing you are going to tell me? Did you never eat rabbit either?” He asked her and she couldn’t help but snort. Yeah, sure. Rabbit. 

“The only hunting I ever did was to do down to the corner shop on my street and buy whatever was on clearance that day. And ramen. Lots and lots of ramen,” Daphne answered truthfully as she let him push her through the hardware store which was far too big for her liking.

“Luke!” She squeaked when he pushed her and then let go suddenly only to catch onto the trolley after a few seconds again. 

He laughed warmly again and then finally brought the shopping cart to a stand, offering her his hand to help her step down. 

“Childhood experience all ticked off,” he told her and Daphne was unable not to smile at him at that moment. His hazel eyes seemed to nearly shine with his amusement and he was far too pretty to look at that moment. 

“You get your paint, I get supplies,” he suggested and Daphne happily went along with that. 

Once she found the paint chips she also quickly found what colours she wanted to use, different shades of green, blue and grey. The only shade she thought over for a long time was the one that would go on the other three walls in her room. 

She contemplated two tones of blue. 

“Do you have everything?” Luke asked her, starting her as he came up behind her and she bit her lip in contemplation.

“What do you think? Mountain Air or…” Daphne checked the name on the paint chips. “Soar?” 

“Are they different?” He asked her, taking the paint chips from her to hold them against the light. 

“Soar is darker,” Daphne told him with some amusement creeping in her voice. Really? They weren’t the same colour at all. Mountain Air was lighter and had a greenish tint to it while Soar was a cooler tone. 

“I like Mountain Air,” he finally decided and Daphne nodded her agreement. So did she. 

She grasped a container filled with that, taking a bigger one than from any of the other colours and Luke took it from her to put it on the shopping cart that was already filled with drop cloth and painting supplies. 

“Do you need anything?” She asked him and he just sighed. 

“I have a **_list,_** ” he told her with a roll of his eyes, but she could see that he was exasperated and not angry. “That’s what happens if you mention to my father that you are going to the hardware store.”

He handed a folded piece of paper while he pushed the cart along and Daphne read over it, her eyebrows climbing into her hairline. 

“I have no idea what half of these things are,” she finally admitted with a laugh. Warming Wire? A Wood Screen Rolling Tool?

At least she knew what a dowel was. 

“Now you are going to learn,” Luke snorted. “Welcome to my family where we own far too many building tools and seemingly everybody has an obsession with Chair Rail Moulding.”

She also freely admitted that she had no idea what Chair Rail Moulding was. Apparently the pretty pieces of wood along the middle of a wall. 

Daphne tagged along while Luke went searching to whatever weird things his father had asked for which ended up being a pile bigger than her stuff. 

Finally, they were on the way down to the cash registers, Luke went to check out some sale they were having on bathroom vanities and Daphne stared at the selection of doorknobs they were having on sale. 

They looked like they were made out of glass, speckled with blue and green. Rounded and pretty. Daphne had no idea what she should use them for but they were pretty. 

“You could put them on your dresser. Replace the old ones that have already seen better days,” Luke said as he came up behind her and she shook herself out of her thoughts. “They should fit without a problem.”

“I don’t need them,” she said with a soft sigh. She didn’t need them. They were pretty and ultimately useless, weren’t they? 

“They are on clearance for one buck each and you find them pretty,” Luke said raising an eyebrow. “What are you waiting for, Daphne? Buy them.”

“I do,” she admitted softly. She had the money. What was she waiting for?

“Fine.”

***

Luke loved watching her paint. 

He had seen how it had started to itch in her hands to start as soon as they had arrived back at the house. 

And so he had happily helped her to put all her furniture in the middle of the room and thrown plastic sheets over it.

Then they had spent far too much time taping off everything that needed to be taped off, which at least wasn’t much because Daphne had sworn she could do that edges of her mural without any tape and he would let her try. He had his doubts but he wasn’t about to say them out loud. 

But when she started to actually paint…

It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. She completely and utterly got lost in the colours and the strokes of her paintbrush, her eyes flittering over the wall, her hands slowly and carefully building paint and colour up until it looked just as Daphne wanted it to look. 

In the meantime, he painted the other three walls of her room a light blue colour, the same colour that the sky would have in her picture, the wall behind her bed was slowly but surely transformed into a misty forest. 

It surprised him that she chose that and not the beach or some colourful flowers, but the misty forest was…peaceful. Just as he always could find peace in the forest, Daphne could find it in the painting of her wall mural. 

They didn’t talk. 

They didn’t need to. 

The silence was relayed and peaceful, the time moving slow between them and Luke was just happy to soak up as much of her presence as he could. 

Every time he was near her, he could feel his whole body coming to a standstill when he began to listen to her quiet breathing, the steady thump, thump, thump of her heartbeat. She relaxed him in a way nothing else ever had. 

Her smell permeated the room even though the paint fumes and him having opened both of her windows wide open while he painted around the closet doors that he remembered helping Ollie fix. 

It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday in his opinion. 

They had pizza for dinner, courtesy of Caroline and Matthew, who were off to the movies and told them to be teenagers for once, which made Daphne laugh. 

So they ended up on the floor, leaning against the footboard of the bed amid painting supplies and a finished mural on the wall. 

“You have not a single animal in your forest. Isn’t that a bit unbelievable?” He asked her after another bite of his pizza and she just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“How do you know there are no animals?” She asked him, a glint in her eyes and he stared at the wall again. 

“I see two birds,” he finally told her drily and she shrugged her shoulders. 

“It’s two animals,” she deadpanned and he couldn’t help but laugh. 

“What other animals should I put on there then, in your opinion?” She asked him

“You should put a wolf somewhere,” he couldn’t help but suggest and she reached for her paintbrush one last time. A black wolf took up residence on the mountain top, howling at the moon that took up most of the left upper corner of the wall. 

Howling at the moon? Really? 

How **_stereotypical_**. 

He took what he could get though when Daphne left the paintbrush in the paint pod and curled up on her side on the floor, looking at the mural again. Her head was somewhere next to his thigh and he yearned to reach out and run his hand through the blonde curls. 

He didn’t. 

It wasn’t his place. 

Not yet. 

“Thank you for helping me,” Daphne said then, her voice soft. 

“I liked doing it,” he gave back. He had loved doing it. If they could spend every weekend for the rest of their life like that, he would be completely content.

“It helps,” Daphne whispered suddenly and he looked down at her. 

“What helps?” He asked her softly. What was she talking about?

“Painting…my head gets quiet then…I don’t need to think about…I don’t need to feel if I don’t want to.”

He didn’t know what he was supposed to say to that. 

Luke could hear the thickness in her voice, could smell saltiness in the air, her tears that must be running over her cheeks. 

He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, wanting to at least offer her the comfort of touch because his words weren’t enough in that moment. 

And he **_needed_** to do something. 

For a moment she flinched away but then she seemingly melted in his touch. 

***

There were two things that Daphne was highly aware on Monday morning: 1. Her walk on Sunday evening which had ended with her absolutely drenched during the sudden downpour of rain had not been a good idea at all. 2. Seemingly everybody knew about her and Luke’s excursion to the hardware store and that they had painted her room. 

“I thought you weren’t interested in getting a boyfriend?” Kiana asked her during lunch, a bright grin on her face and it left Daphne stuttering out that she wasn’t.

“I am not…we aren’t…” she brought out, her cheeks blushing a bright, bright red and she just wanted to die.

She didn’t want anybody to think that she had tried to seduce Luke or…done anything else or even…

She really did not want to destroy his reputation or make it difficult for him. He was already far too nice to her and Daphne would feel if she made it difficult for him in any way.

“Kiana was just teasing you,” Grace took pity of her with a smile. “Just ignore anybody who decides to think something else.” Daphne was advised.

“And really…my brother could do far worse than you,” Grace added with a smirk which made Daphne blush deeper and resulted in a playful growl from Ollie.

“She’s too young for a boyfriend,” Ollie said, crossing his arms and Grace rolled her eyes. 

“Ollie, she’s three months younger than you. If she wants a boyfriend, she can have one. And you will just need to suck it up,” Grace snorted which resulted in Ollie pouting for the remainder of their lunch break. 

Daphne had no problem with goodnatured teasing but to be cornered by Haley was not high on her list of things to do, which meant that she tried to keep her head down as well as she could. 

Haley still tried to kill her with glares as a result of it but Daphne ignored that to the best of her ability. She had survived worse. 

And as long as Haley would just leave her alone…

That badly timed excursion outside in the rain the evening before had resulted in her coughing if she moved to fast and a pressure behind her eyelids that nothing could help. 

Daphne was just lugging herself to her art lesson as she managed to collide with somebody. 

It ended with her on the floor, her books flying everywhere. 

“Still haven’t learned your fucking lesson?!” The voice snapped at her and Daphne flinched violently at the tone of voice. She knew who that voice belonged to. 

“S…sorry,” she whispered, the words not wanting to come out as she gathered up her books as quickly as she could. 

“Are you too busy to think about your… _boyfriend_ to look where you are going?” Kyle Wilder sneered at her. 

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” she brought out defensively. Luke wasn’t. 

He gave one of her books a kick as he snorted loudly, but Daphne didn’t react to it. She just picked up the last book and scrambled to stand up.

“Oh, so you are just whoring yourself out to him then?” He asked her, amusement evident in his voice. “If that’s the case I am sure I could think of something so that you could make it up to me,” he leered and Daphne wanted to throw up.

The bile rose in her throat but she didn’t outwardly react, not looking at him.

“No,” she brought out shakily, moving to slip around him and just wanted to get away from him and this whole situation. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all. 

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she scrambled to the next class. Get away from him and under people. A deserted hallway was the worst place to have a confrontation with him. 

***

Daphne was getting sick. 

Luke could see it. Her movements were slower than usual and not precise. She was favouring her right side, even when she was left-handed something he had picked up after the first day with her. 

He could smell it as well. Her scent was dimmed and he could smell pain markers in scent, and all over it was a sour…tint that he didn’t like at all. He didn’t know where it came from, didn’t know if it was an infection or something else but it put him on edge. 

He could sense it. Could sense how she became even quieter than usual when the week progressed, sensed how she became more skittish and shy until she spent most of the lunch breaks staring at her sketchbook without actually drawing anything because her hands shook with an imaginary cold. 

Something was wrong and Luke didn’t like that at all. 

He asked her if she was alright but to every single one of his questions, she only said she was fine. 

Luke didn’t dare to push because he wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to know that real answer. 

Still, he tried his best to shield her. He offered her a place at his side during lessons and during their lunch break where she didn’t need to do much of anything, hoping that maybe that was going to help her rest. 

It didn’t. She became paler and paler with every passing day and it slowly but surely was starting to make him anxious. Something was wrong with his mate and he didn’t know what it was or what he needed to do to fix it. 

He couldn’t fucking fix it if she didn’t tell him what was even wrong with her!

(It also didn’t help that his wolf was having very definite ideas what to do if she wasn’t telling him what was wrong with her. And none of them was anything that Luke believed to be appropriate.) 

He couldn’t help himself to be slightly absent-minded during football training on Thursday, still easily able to keep up with the humans on the team but every single Werewolf noticed that his head was everywhere but in the game. 

And of course…that was the day that Kyle picked out to get on his nerves. 

He tried the same thing he had during that game, tackling Luke with far more force than what even necessary and not stopping there. And trying to get his hands on a werewolf that was already on edge and pissed off about a mate that wasn’t talking to him…that wasn’t a good mix at all. 

“Let. Me. Go,” Luke growled, punctuated every single word, needing to use far more strength than he wanted to suppress the wolf that wanted to come to the surface and put Kyle flat on his back, his teeth at the other boys’ throat. 

**_Put them down decisively. You can’t allow anybody to undermine your strength as alpha,_** his father’s voice echoed in his back and that didn’t help with him trying not to rip out a human’s throat. 

It didn’t help at all. 

If Kyle was a fellow werewolf, they wouldn’t even have this problem because Luke would have already beat the crap out of him for even trying to put his hands on Luke’s mate. 

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Kyle snorted and Luke had enough.

He shoved with far more strength than he would possess if he were an actual human, dislodging Kyle and jumping up to stand. 

Apparently Luke wasn’t the only one who had enough, so had Coach Bell, the football coach that was so old that he had already taught Luke’s father’s generation and probably his grandfather as well. 

“Kyle, Lucas, that’s enough!” He snapped loudly. 

“Kyle, I am not continuing to deal with your hostile behaviour.” Luke hadn’t expected that. At all. It took a lot to piss off Coach Bell and Kyle had apparently managed to do that. 

“You are in one and the same team. You nearly threw a game so that you could hurt one of your own teammates. I don’t care what your problem is, but I am not having you play when you can’t even behave during a simple practice game. You are on the bench for the two weeks, you will show up for practice but you are not going to play until you can heave like a responsible human being,” the coach continued his tirade. 

Ouch. That was harsh. 

Luke didn’t say anything as much as he wanted. Kyle glared at him and Luke matched it with a glare of its own. 

He smiled, putting all of his gleaming white teeth on display, a single gesture that said so much more than any words he could possibly use at that moment. 

***

It just got worse throughout the week. Daphne did her best to ignore the pain in her chest that came with every breath she took and she also tried to ignore the fire that was igniting in her back as soon as she even moved one single muscle. 

Keeping it clean hadn’t worked out as well as she had hoped to. The cuts were an angry red and Daphne wasn’t sure if they were infected or just irritated. By the pain she was in she would bet on infected and nothing seemed to help. 

She had tried to use salt water on it, only to not hold it out for more than a few seconds because it had hurt. 

Oh god, it had hurt.

Saltwater was a no, soap hurt as well and even the one time shampoo had accidentally dripped onto one of the wounds Daphne had needed to muffle her screams.

Her back was one thing. 

The rest of her was the other. 

Her chest hurt. It felt like there was an invisible weight on it, and whatever she was doing…it wasn’t lifting up. It got worse if she walked upstairs, if she stood for a long period of time…

She was so tired. So _tired_. She slept 8 hours and took a nap as soon as she came home from school but still, she was just bone-deep tired. 

It was exhaustion that even sleep didn’t seem to fix. 

And when on Thursday evening she nearly fell asleep over dinner, her eyes falling shut again and again 

“Honey, are you okay?” Caroline asked her worriedly and Daphne wanted to laugh about that. No, she really wasn’t. 

“I am not hungry, can I go to sleep, please?” She asked, pushing the plate away from her. There was spaghetti on there but she was too tired to eat more than two bites of it. 

Before she could say something else, Matthew’s hand was on her forehead, and she leaned into the warmth. 

“You are a bit warm,” he commented softly and she couldn’t help but shiver. 

“Cold. I am cold,” she corrected, pulling the sweater tighter around herself. 

“Go to sleep. If you aren’t feeling better in the morning, you can stay at home, alright?” He told her gently and she nodded her agreement, already knowing that she wasn’t going to take him up on that offer. It was just one day more…she could do one more day. 

She moved upstairs sluggishly, somehow managing to get under the covers and closed her eyes. 

It felt like it had just taken three seconds when her phone was waking her. 

Her head was hurting but she washed her face with ice-cold water and put on a sweater, cursing herself out when she pulled it over her head. It hurt. Oh god, it hurt. 

She went downstairs for breakfast, eating half a bowl of cereal and milk while Ollie was shovelling eggs and bacon in his mouth. 

Daphne told Caroline that she was fine when her aunt asked. She wasn’t.

“If you start feeling bad, have the school nurse call me, honey,” Caroline told her with a hug and a kiss to her forehead and she nodded her agreement. 

She felt terrible but she couldn’t…she couldn’t get sick. 

Not like this. She couldn’t be more of a burden than she already was so she held back the coughs and waited in the car for Ollie, not bothering to slip out of her parka because she was already cold again. 

So cold. 

She wore two sweaters layered on top of each other but even they hadn’t been able to chase the chill away that she felt that day. 

Her head felt stuffed with cotton wool and she had problems following the lessons, needing to rely on Luke to fill her in if she missed anything. 

He didn’t comment on it but she could feel his eyes on her nearly the whole time. 

“Are you okay?” He finally asked her when they sat down for lunch and she laid her head cradled in her arms on the table for a moment closing her eyes. 

“Just tired,” Daphne gave back, her voice muffled. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to crawl in her bed and not come out until she had slept for a few weeks. 

“You look sick,” Luke told her with a sigh and she couldn#t help but snort. 

“Thanks, just what a girl wants to hear,” she gave back, trying to infuse at least some sarcasm in her voice and then starting to cough which meant that she needed to lift up her head at least a bit. That just resulted in a jolt of pain straight through her brain and she let her head fall back to her arms again. 

A warm hand pressed against her forehead and she couldn’t help but press back against it. 

“You are warm,” Luke said softly, worry edging his voice as he pulled his hand away and she made a protesting sound. He was warm. Nothing else was as warm as him. 

“Do you want to go see the school nurse, Daphne?” Ollie asked her. 

No. There was no reason to make a big deal out of just a cold. 

“No, It’s just two more classes, “ she answered, Luke’s hand now gently petting her hair and she pressed against. “I can do that.”

Art lesson was cut short as the teacher’s grandson had an accident and that meant that the Art Club wouldn’t happen either which made Daphne groaned. 

She could either spend two hours sitting around on the bleachers waiting for Ollie or she could walk home. 

She decided to walk home, her parka grabbed in her hand because that was the best she could do. 

She couldn’t get it on. Her back screamed in protest.

Her backpack was in her hand as well and so she trudged over the parking lot, typing out a message for Ollie that she was on the way home and that he didn’t need to wait for her. 

It took less than five minutes for her to regret her choice. Maybe she should have chosen to sit out on the bleachers…maybe that would have been better. 

Icy cold air was blowing through her hair and she couldn’t help shivering. Just walk. One foot in front of the other…you just need to follow the street…

The street was a one way around the centre of Fairbury, forests one both sides. The road was higher than the forests, and it was sloped steeply on both sides. Daphne actually didn’t want to know what happened if somebody managed to get into an accident there. They would drive straight in the forest and probably manage to get mangled around a tree. 

And then suddenly, she was shoved and she fell straight down into the forest. 

“I don’t take being told no very well…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY! But I promise all will be okay!


	14. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have an *extremely* weak stomach, that's probably not a chapter for you, tbh.

_Sit with the pain until it passes and you will be calmer for the next one._

** _Naval Ravikant_ **

Something was wrong. 

He could feel it in his blood, he could feel it in his bones. 

Something was **_deeply_** wrong. 

He didn’t say anything, trying to get his mind off it, even when everything in his body screamed at him that something wasn’t right. 

He tried to concentrate on football, tried to ignore how furious Coach Bell had been when Kyle hadn’t bothered to show up for training. Coach Bell had instead tortured them with ball passes and running until all of them had nearly passed out. 

Afterwards, his muscles were burning and he caught up with Ollie and his sister in the parking lot. Ollie was pulling a giggling Grace to his car, and Daphne was nowhere to be seen. 

“Ollie, you need to wait for Daphne!” Luke called after him. Ollie was not going to forget her only because he was too busy mooning after Luke’s sister. Not on his watch. 

“Oh, she wrote me a message that Art Club was cancelled,” Ollie called back. 

Cancelled? She was off earlier?

“Did she hitch a ride with Kiana?” He asked worriedly, only getting a roll of Ollie’s eyes back. 

“No, she _walked!_ ” Ollie called back, herding his sister in the car, both of them still giggling. 

Daphne _walked_. 

His mate had already been in a sorry state at Lunch, hadn’t fought against him touching her soft hair but had leaned into the touch. He had felt how warm she was, far warmer than what was normal for her. 

She hadn’t been fine…and for her to walk the few miles home…that wouldn’t be…

“Fuck,” he cursed, getting in the car. 

Had she even been able to get home? Had she been safe? 

He was half expecting to find her huddled at the side of the road while he drove home but she wasn’t. 

Maybe she had managed to get home safe. Maybe he was just overreacting….

Luke hoped he was wrong with every fibre of his being. 

He arrived home at the Hyde’s house before Ollie and Grace and jumped out of the car, taking a deep breath. There was no trace of Daphne in the air, no trace of pineapple upside-down cake, no cinnamon, no sweetness…nothing. 

He ground his teeth together, a small part of his brain offering ideas why maybe her smell wasn’t there, while a bigger part and his wolf were in high alert as he rang the doorbell. 

Caroline opened the door just moments later, surprised to see him alone and not Ollie and Grace at his side. 

“Luke! Isn’t Grace with you?” Caroline asked him but Luke just shook his head mutely. 

“Has Daphne come home?” He asked. _Please say yes Caroline,_ he begged silently. _Tell me that she’s just taking a nap, that she came home drenched but is fine._

But Caroline shook her head, surprise evident on her face. 

“No, she has just as long as you, Luke…” Caroline trailed off but he cut in before she could say something else. 

“Art club was cancelled. She wrote Ollie that she would walk home but…”

Before he could say another word, Caroline was already calling her. He listened to the phone ring once, twice, thrice…until finally, the mailbox answered. 

“What’s wrong?” Ollie asked from behind him as Luke already was thinking off all the things that could have happened to her. 

It had started to snow again and she wasn’t dressed to stay in that kind of cold for longer than necessary…not even with the thick parka she wore. She was too thin, to slight to withstand the weather, too weak to survive…she was fragile, she was just a human…everything would be able to kill her from a car accident to a bear attack and…

**_Focus Luke. If she walked home then what could have held her up?_ **

“Luke, what are you thinking?” Grace pulled him out of his thoughts as one thing suddenly stood out clear. 

**No.**

**_No._ **

That couldn’t be. **_He_** wouldn’t…

**_He_** would. He was pissed off about Luke and he would do everything to make him pay up for it, wouldn’t he? And if he thought that hurting Daphne would in any shape or form hurt Luke…

“That Kyle wasn’t there for training today,” Luke said softly, closing his eyes against the images that wanted to invade his head. He didn’t know what was happened, maybe she just got lost, maybe…

“He _wouldn’t_ …” Ollie started but Luke needed to know the truth. And that **_now_**. 

“Get me something that smells like her,” he snapped, not caring who would react to that order and jogged around the house to the back porch. He shrugged off his coat, pulled his shirt over his head and ignored the shiver that ran over his body as the cold air assaulted him. 

“What are you going to do?” Ollie asked him suddenly as he got started with his shoes, slipping out of them and balling up his socks inside them. 

“I am going to find her,” Luke answered determinedly. He was going to find her. And she was going to be fine. “Take the car back to the school, I am starting there.” He told Ollie, and in the next moment let the shift run over him, heat and pressure until a wolf stood where just seconds before a human had been. 

He shook his head, orienting himself and then turned to find Caroline in the doorframe to the living room, holding what must have been Daphne’s pillow. 

“Here,” she held it out for him and he pressed his nose into it, sorting through the smells easily enough until he had filtered out what was uniquely daphne. 

Luke let her scent engulf him, tired to commit the sweet and warm scent to memory. 

And then he turned and ran. 

He wasn’t as quick as Grace. Nobody was as quick as Grace. 

But he was quick enough and he was the best tracker in the pack. His scent of smell was exceptional and right now he needed that. He needed it to keep his mate safe. 

He didn’t take a single break as he darted into the forest, the trees nothing more than a single smudge of colour in his peripheral vision as he ran to the school. If he caught her scent somewhere…then there. 

It had started snowing again, diluting her scent, making it more difficult to track her. 

He got a whiff of her scent just outside the building that housed the art classroom. Thankfully the School was empty now, so nobody saw the big black wolf sprinting over the parking lot but even if anybody did…Luke didn’t care. 

He had only one thing he cared about right now and that was his mate. Her scent pulled him right along the high way, sweet and soft and still the sour undertone that he couldn’t place, the smell of iron and blood. 

And then he smelled another scent, right there layered on top of Daphne. Masculine. Bluebells. Sharp and Icy. 

There was only one person that smelled like that. 

Something was wrong. Something was wrong….

And then suddenly her smell stopped. He came to a standstill, trying to figure out what had happened. 

Either a car…or…he looked down in the forest. 

He tracked over the forest, trying to find her.

And then he saw her. 

Or more exactly, the first thing he saw was the bright sherry red of her scarf. He saw her backpack lying next to her, it’s contents spilt out in the snow. 

Her parka was laying there in the snow as well, nothing but a khaki green splash of colour against the white ground.

Daphne laid in the snow, her blood dyeing the white snow a scarlet red. 

She looked like a rag doll somebody had carelessly thrown away like nobody had cared where her limbs would land. 

He was moving before he could think, jumping down towards her, a howl ripping out of his throat louder and more desperate than any other sound he had ever heard before. 

It was a cry for help and a call for arms all at the same time as the feeling of blind desperation filled him with his mate hurt in front of him. 

The scent of blood intensified as he reached her, her breathing shallow, her eyes closed. Her face was a mess of bruises and wounds, technicolour. He couldn’t even see her pale skin underneath all the bruises anymore. 

He carefully pressed his nose against her face, a high whine escaping him, begging her to react to him, to open her eyes, to move a finger. 

Nothing. 

Her heart was beating weakly, shuddering, and he could feel how weak she was. 

He reacted on instinct. 

He wasn’t proud of what he did. He never would be. Even years later he would want to apologise for his action when he reached for her wrist.

His sharp teeth closed around the fragile bones. 

He bit. 

Blood flooded his mouth, her blood and he licked the wounds trying to get as much saliva in her bloodstream as possible. 

If he was lucky, if she was latent as he believed, if she had it inside her, if…

He howled again, loudly, getting to her left side and repeating his action. He didn’t allow himself to move her, too scared about her back, her hips, too scared about any other broken bones. 

If there were spine injuries…if his bite wouldn’t take…He couldn’t take that risk. 

The only other place he could easily reach to bite her was her neck. He couldn’t…

He tried to be as careful as he could, knowing that he would be able to break her neck too fucking easily like this. 

Luke had dreamed about putting a bite there but only once….it would complete their mating. 

A mating bite in the side of her neck. He would bite her and she would bite him, completing the bond and making it strong and durable and everything he hoped for. 

He had never wanted to get his wolf teeth on her human neck, knowing that if he did this wrong, he would break her neck in seconds.

As careful as possible, he closed his jaw, punctuated the skin easily, slicing through skin and muscle like a hot knife through butter. He stopped as soon as her blood filled his mouth. He reacted instinctually with producing saliva, just like he would do if he would hunt another damn rabbit and licked over the wounds he had made, hoping that this would help, would help her alive long enough to get help. 

He moved downwards, not being her torso and then was left with her legs. Her left thigh was mangled…was that bone sticking out? 

If Luke would have been human…he would have thrown up. 

He wasn’t though and he was running on adrenaline and desperation. Enough desperation that he repeated the same thing to her right thigh. He bit through her Jeans, letting the saliva drip into the open wound. 

“OH god.” He looked up from biting her thigh, finding Grace and Ollie there, both of them human and getting down to them from the street level.

His sister sat down a bag in the snow just next to Daphne and he shifted back, pushing down the wolf as harshly as he could. Thankfully he went willingly, instinctually understanding that Daphne needed his human form far more than the wolf. 

Luke had bitten her, had pushed enough saliva inside her that hopefully, the bite would take and now he needed to stop the blood follow. 

He yanked on his clothing, it taking far too long for his liking, while Grace had fallen on her knees next to Daphne’s head, shaking hands reaching out to touch her. 

“Don’t lift her, Ollie!” He snapped warningly.

“We need to get her out of the snow!” Ollie protested near hysterical and while Luke agreed…they couldn’t…They could make it so much worse if they just lifted her up without a plan, without. 

And then thankfully he heard another car, his Sherrif’s car and just seconds later, his uncle Andrew took the scene in seconds. 

It was ridiculous calming to know that there was an actual adult there now that knew what to do. 

His uncle climbed down the hill to come to be at their side, already checking over Daphne. 

“You bit her, Luke?” His uncle asked him, hands slowly pressing against Daphne’s body, cataloguing and he could only nod.

His uncle said nothing else for a few seconds, winding his own scarf around her head and neck to try and stem the bleeding. 

“Belt, Luke, Ollie” He commanded sharply. He used them as tourniquets around both of her legs, just above the bone and just above the bite that had been supposed to save her life and was probably just making it worse. 

“Luke, you take her,” Andrew commanded then suddenly and Luke lifted her immediately, as gently as he could. He cradled her battered and broken body against himself, a soft pained moan coming from her. 

“We’ll get her to Matthew as quickly as we can,” His uncle promised him softly. 

“Grace, you drive. Ollie, call your parents now.” All of them listened to the snapped orders, just happy that they weren’t the one needing to make these decisions.

“Susan, Thomas, you are on crime scene duty,” his uncle continued to snap, now in Sheriff mode. “Don’t leave anything behind…we can’t do that the human way…not without a damn explanation of how we found her and with Luke’s bites all over her and not fucking closing.”

“Should…should we call an ambulance?” Ollie asked suddenly and Andrew shook his head. 

“No, we can’t. Not if you want to explain the bite wounds on her body,” Andrew said softly. “We need to deal with that ourself.”

“There’s so much blood, Grace whispered before she finally seemed to shook out of whatever she was thinking, running up towards the street and Luke followed her. He tried to move as smoothly as possible, not wanting to put Daphne in more pain than what was needed. 

They got in the car, Ollie on the phone with his parents, Grace behind the driver's wheel, Luke, Daphne and his uncle all on the backseat, her head cradled against his shoulder, trying to stem the bleeding. His uncle's hands were over the bite woads on her thigh, her other leg also smeared with blood and…

“She’s hypothermic,” Andrew told him, checking over her fingertips that had turned nearly purple. 

“She has been in the snow for at least an hour by now,” Luke whispered, pulling her as close to him as he could, cradling her head. 

If his body warmth was going to make it better than he would happily keep her pressed against him. 

She was going to be fine. She needed to be fine. He had no idea what he was supposed to do if she wouldn’t be fine. He needed her to be fine. He needed her to be healthy again. 

“You’ll be fine. We’ll get you help…” he whispered against her head, pressing a kiss to her icy skin. “It’s gonna be alright.”

He kept up the litany of that, promising her that the pain would stop, that she was safe, promising her that all would be well and a thousand other things that he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep. 

The drive was quiet and terse. He kept the pressure on the wound on her head, trying to stop it from bleeding as much as it was possible but her blood was all over him, soaking through his shirt and his jeans, her neck wound bleeding just as much. 

He was hoping that her werewolf healing would kick in, that at least the wounds where he had bitten her would close but it didn’t. 

Daphne was quiet, her breathing still shallow, sometimes punctuated by a soft wheezing sound. 

His sister was driving like the devil but he didn’t worry about that. 

Her reflexes were that of a werewolf, they didn’t have car accidents like that. Not really. Speed wasn’t a problem for them, their reflexes were so much better than the ones from humans. 

The car skid to hold in front of the Hyde’s house and Luke got her out of the car, resulting in another tiny pained cry that he tried to soothe. 

“Oh god,” it was Matthew’s whispered words that told Luke that it was as bad as he thought it was. 

“Get her in the living room, on the floor,” Matthew commanded and he got her in the house as quickly as possible, Matthew throwing a clean sheet on the floor. For a moment Luke wondered why Matthew hadn’t put her on the dinner table until he realised that the danger of her falling off that was real. 

He kept her head supported, pressed the scarf to her neck and her scalp where there was still blood trickling from her. 

“Caroline, I need scissors!” Matthew snapped, already cataloguing injuries. He prodded her legs, his hands shaking as they touched where Luke had bitten her. 

“I have two of the deputies there,” Andrew said, kneeling next to Luke on the floor “We are…rigging the crime scene. We can’t do it the human way.”

“Why not?” Caroline brought out as she handed Matthew scissors, her hand pressed in front of her mouth. 

“Luke bit her to try and stop the blood flow, Caroline,” Matthew answered softly. 

“Where did you bite her?” Caroline asked him. 

“Neck and wrist and thigh,” Luke brought out. “I am so sorry. I tried to get as much saliva in the wounds as I could.”

“You did well,” Matthew told him but he shook his head. 

The blood was still dripping. “It’s not working.” He whispered. It needed to start working. It needed to start doing something…she couldn’t…

“It will,”Matthew promised him. 

Matthew cut through the layers of clothing Daphne wore and Luke concentrated on her face, on the way how nearly both of her eyes were swollen shut and bruised, on the black and purple and blue that covered her face. 

“At least three broken ribs…” Matthew whispered, his hands on her ribcage which colour was the same as the purple and blue on her face. **_He_** had taken care to bruise every square inch of her body. 

“Any punctuated her lungs?” Andrew asked but Matthew shook his head. 

“Deep bruises all over her torso…” Matthew continued, putting pressure on her stomach and being calmed by the non-existent reaction that he got. 

“Andrew cut off her jeans,” Matthew commanded. “Be careful with the tourniquets though.”

Luke didn’t look at her legs. He couldn’t.

“Broken femur…I need to set that.” Matthew said, his voice calm, narrating the horror of the whole situation.“Broken wrist as well…”

“Turn her around, carefully,” he told Luke and Luke turned her as gently as she could to her right side, careful not to jostle the broken leg too much. 

“Oh my god.” It was Matthew’s whisper that made Luke lookup. He looked at her back, the bloody remnants of her sweater not covering it any more. 

A criss-cross of scars, welts and marks were there, the sour smell intensifying when Luke saw the reason for it. 

Her back infected, wounds angry red and pus leaking out of some of them. 

New bruises covered them as well, but the wounds…these were old. At least days if not weeks. If not…

“I’ll need to wash these out and…” Matthew said, his voice broken…

“When did that happen?” Luke brought out. Old enough…had they happened when she was already with him? Were they older? Had she walked around with them for weeks and none of them had noticed?

“I don’t know,” Matthew answered. “They are…they look old enough to have happened before her mother died but I can’t…”

“Matthew,” His Uncle's voice was soft, making them both lookup. “There are…cigarette burns on her thighs. Scarred though. They must be a few years old. ” 

The knowledge of that rippled through the room and Luke looked at her, his vision blurring at the edges when he fought with his wolf that wanted nothing more than to rip apart whoever had dared to do that to her. 

He knew who had done this to her. If he needed to bet he would easily say that it must have been her mother. And this…this would also explain so many other of Daphne’s quirks. 

She had grown up abused by her mother, had needed to leave childhood behind far too early. He had joked that she had a deprived childhood but he had had no idea how right he had been about that. 

“Oh honey,” Caroline whispered, suddenly kneeling next to Luke, pressing a kiss to Daphne’s forehead. “It’s going to be fine. You are going to be fine.”

Luke just wished that to be true more than anything. He felt caged not a nightmare that was far too real, filled with things that he couldn’t…he couldn’t do anything but to keep her head still, hands still pressing against the wounds. 

“I…I am going to set her leg first…then her back,” Matthew said, his voice forced professionalism, going through his bag to find whatever he needed. 

The door opened suddenly and Luke couldn’t help but feel safety wash over him when he saw who it was. His parents. 

His father took in the situation in seconds and kneeled down next to him, hazel eyes taking in the damage. 

His mother gently offered Caroline a hand, who looked like she was on the verge of a hysteric break down. 

“Let’s get some towels and hot water, Caroline.” His mother whispered. “It’s going to take a while.”

“I am not leaving her alone,” Caroline hissed. 

“Caro, this won’t be pretty,” Matthew sighed. “Keep away from her. At least one of us should not be connected to the pain she is going to feel soon.” That was enough to make Caroline stand up slowly and back away. 

“On that note…Luke, either you stay here…or you need to get away. At least a few miles,” Matthew said meeting his eyes for a moment. “Your instincts will tell you to protect your mate from pain and this will hurt her.“

It was completely silent in the room and Luke closed his eyes, his thumb stroking along Daphne’s cheek. 

“Since when did you know?” He whispered finally. Since when?

Matthew made a noise that may was supposed to be a laugh but was anything but. “You look at her like she’s the most precious thing in your life.” 

“Am I wrong?” Matthew enquired but Luke just shook his head. 

“No, she’s…she’s mine. I knew from the moment I first met her,” he admitted. 

He couldn’t help but flinch when he heard the steps leaving the house, a door being slammed shut. 

Luke had known that this was a possibility but to know that he had managed to piss off Ollie badly enough that he went straight out of the house with his little sister lying there bleeding on the floor…that was bad. 

“Grace, go after him and run a parameter around the house. I want nobody to come in here right now apart from Family,” his father said quietly. “He’ll come around. He just needs some time,” he added for LUke’s benefit but he just shook his head. He couldn’t…He couldn’t deal with that right now. 

Daphne was more important than Ollie being in some kind of snit. 

“What are you going to do now?” He asked Matthew, who finally had found seemingly everything he needed. Matthew prodded his hands away from her neck and head and Luke let her go even when he didn’t want to. 

“Bandage her head and neck first.” Matthew washed out the wounds, resulting in a soft cry coming from her and her flinching away. 

“Hold her in place for me,” Matthew ordered him and he kept his hands on her head when she again flinched. Her movements were weak and slow and it was easy for him to still her. Her eyes didn’t open up but she seemed to at least be slightly aware of her surroundings. At least he hoped she was. 

White gauze, tightly bandaged stemmed the blood flow, and it was calming him to see that she now at least got all the help she needed. 

“I am going to set her leg and her wrists…wash out her back,” Matthew said, turning to grab something behind her. Apparently, a syringe filled with some kind of clear liquid.“I am going to give her painkillers but…she’s going to burn through them,” Matthew warned them as he injected her with it in the crook of her elbow.“I am going to need you to help, Luke.”

“Whatever she needs,” he gave back immediately. Whatever he could do to make this better for her. 

“Lay down on the floor. On your back. You are going to keep her still for me.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Caroline said softly and Luke looked up to see her in the doorway, holding towels and a bowl of what was probably hot water. 

“Should we let somebody else but her mate dominate her like that, Caroline?” Matthew gave back. “Luke is the only thing that even has a **_chance_** to comfort her right now. I am going to hurt her worse than whoever did this until I am finished.”

“Did you…Do you know who did it?” Caroline asked him and Luke took a deep breath, pushing down against the pain, the fury he was feeling. 

“…there was Kyle’s smell all over her own,” he answered softly. It was quiet again until Caroline’s snarl broke the silence. 

“I am going to kill him.”

“We’ll deal with him later. I promise you that,” his father promised darkly. “He beat the mate of my heir and the future alpha half to death. We’ll deal with him.”

“Enough chit chat,” Matthew snapped. “Luke, on the floor.”

He listened immediately, laying down on his back and Daphne was laid on his chest just moments later, her back against his chest. He ignored the blood smearing on his shirt, grasping hold of her and the towel that Matthew had draped over her chest and locked his arms around her that she would have no escape. 

“Stephen, you will need to hold Luke in place. Andrew, with me,” Matthew ordered.“And don’t wolf out on us, Luke. We are just trying to help her,” Matthew warned him before he started. 

Daphne’s first scream was a knife thrust straight into his heart. 

***

Pain. 

Daphne knew Pain. She knew the pain of a papercut, she knew the pain of staying in one position too long, the pain of sleeping curled up as tightly as she could because there was no space anywhere. She knew the pain of hard work, the scream of her muscles when she had waitressed. She knew the pain of sharp words. 

She knew the pain of a belt on her back better than anything. The biting pain, the hot flash, the rush of blood into the welt that formed. She knew the pain of cigarettes, whenever her mother had been more….imaginative in her punishments. 

She knew punishments. She knew what would happen if she tried to take her mother's whiskey from her if Daphne dared to question her drinking habits if Daphne dared to ask her how it had come that she had gotten fired from her job again. 

Daphne knew all of that. 

She had always believed herself to have a high pain tolerance. She had kept quiet for years, she could hide bruises with the best of them, she could lie to people well enough that they didn’t question her anymore

But right now…all of these memories of pain seemed to be no comparison than to the pain she was in. 

She was in a weird place between being awake and losing consciousness, the only companion constant pain thrumming through her body. 

She couldn’t pinpoint it. She didn’t know what had happened. She didn’t know where she was. She knew nothing but the pain in these moments. 

Her body was aching with cold. Tiny pinpricks all over her skin. Pain was sharply bloomy from her leg, a sharp pain that burned. More pain around her middle…her back hurt but it was so cold that she felt like she couldn’t even feel it anymore. 

And then…a howl broke through the pain, a howl so loud that she wanted to flinch, unable to move a single muscle. 

Everything hurt. 

She felt a hot breath on her sking…then a the feeling of something sharp slicing through her wrist. More pain was added to the constant level she was in and Daphne wanted to scream and move away from whatever was hurting her now. 

She couldn’t. 

Paralysing fear screamed in her head as she felt a jaw close around her neck. 

She was going to die. Some wild animal was going to maul her and behead her and hurt her and she wouldn’t be able to do anything against it. 

More pain. Sharp teeth against her neck and the pain blossomed, pushing her deeper into her unconsciousness. 

More pain came sharply into focus again, her body being moved, every inch protesting against it. She wanted to scream, the only sound escaping her a soft cry as she was moved somewhere else. 

There was the smell of something warm there…she couldn’t place it. It smelled like the forest. Pine needles and wood and warmth but also the freshness of the wind and something else. The smell permeated her senses even through the pain. 

It never went away, it stayed right there with her, even when the pain continued. 

The pain continued, a constant level that she couldn’t do anything against. 

And then suddenly a pain jolted through her body that was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It felt like fire had been lit in her leg and was pushed up through her veins, up through her muscles, leaving only charred flesh behind. 

She screamed. 

“Hold her down!” She didn’t know the voice, she didn’t know what was happening. 

It felt like steel bands kept her pressed down and twisting against them proofed fruitless against the imprisonment. She was too weak. Too weak. 

The pain came again, another time, more voice talking, muffled and too loud at the same time. 

“One more time. This is going to hurt.” A voice said. 

Oh, how right that voice had been. 

She had thought the fire was bad. This pain…this had no comparison, only agony. 

Another scream fought its way out of her mouth cut short when even that wasn’t enough any more. 

If it was possible the pain heightened even more and bile rose in her throat, her stomach rolled, heat broke out all over her body and she gagged. 

She threw up, only that it couldn’t leave her mouth and she choked up even more before suddenly she was moved again, her body protesting as she continued to vomit.

“Shhhhh, sweetheart,” she was hushed gently by a second voice. 

Who called her that?

Nobody called her sweetheart.

The heat continued to roll over her body, pressure in her chest building that she couldn’t place. 

It wasn’t painful. 

One thing that wasn’t painful. 

Heat build, a twisting feeling in her chest as the pressure heightened.

And then it felt like the tightness broke open and she surrendered to it. Wilderness surged inside her and she gasped as whatever it was that came over her and cradled her like a favoured child. 

She wasn’t scared. 

Not anymore. Whatever it was it protected her, sheltered her, warmth and safety in her chest.

“It’s working. The wounds are closing,” a voice whispered.

The steel across her chest lessened and she tried to twist again, tried to get away from whoever was hurting her, but they were back immediately, pressing her chest down against something warm. 

She tried to move again, but then there was a prick in her elbow and she felt herself become sluggish again. 

Why were they drugging her? What were they doing to her?

She whimpered in fear, even with the heat in her chest, even when the feeling of safety was there as well and even when the second voice was talking again. 

“It’s going to be fine, sweetheart. It’s going to be fine.”

***

Her whole body was trembling, pressing against his. 

Her leg had been rightened with a sickening pop that had resulted in Daphne choking on her own vomit and him trying to hold back the bile himself. 

Now Luke was trying to keep her pressed to his chest so that Matthew would be able to take care of her back and Daphne wasn’t having it. 

He had felt it at the moment the bone had slid back in place and she had tried to throw up. Suddenly heat had risen in her body, suddenly her body went rigid as he could feel the wolf surfacing and fighting her way to the front, pushing Daphne back so that the wolf could take the pain, the agony from her. 

For a moment they had seen the shift drift over her skin and he had half expected to have his hands full with a first-time werewolf. 

But then it had receded, still leaving her burning but not in a partial shift anymore. 

The wounds were closing, he could see it. Her body was burning off any possibility of an infection and Daphne was starting to fight against his hold, trying to get free. 

She twisted again, pressing against his arms and Luke tightened them in response. 

“Her back now…she’s doing well, Luke.”

They got her shifted to her stomach, but not without her arms trying to flail and her elbow to his stomach which thankfully was the pain equivalent of a stubbed toe to him. 

“More painkiller,” Matthew explained softly as he injected her again and a scared whimper came from her. 

He pressed her face to his chest, trying to cradle her as well as he could. 

Her back was shuddering with every single breath she took, the criss-cross of scars and wounds and bruises standing out starkly against her normally flawless ivory skin. 

“I need to disinfect the wounds…try to get them as clean as possible. Her body is already burning out any possible infection in her legs but I don’t know how that’s going to work on the wounds here.”  


“Keep a hold on her, this is going to hurt her.”

She reacted with a violent flinch, again trying to twist out of his grip and he tightened his arms around her in response, mentally begging that he was not going to bruise her worse than she already was. 

Apparently, he wasn’t the one who should have been worried about hurting her, because suddenly she seemingly had decided that biting him would be a much better use of her time than trying to twist out of her arms.

Her teeth pressed in the skin just over his clavicle and he was unable not to jerk, which didn’t bother her in the slightest. 

She chomped down as hard she was able. 

It hurt like a bitch, her teeth in his shoulder but he couldn’t care less. He knew that she was reacting instinctually at that point, growling at him to keep still. 

“You okay there, son?” His father asked with some amusement and he would have liked to growl himself, but Daphne was doing quite a good job for both of them. 

She was still growling as Matthew continued to clean her back.

“She got her teeth in me,” Luke gave back with a sigh and jerked when she moved her teeth.

“You want to dislodge her?” His father asked him and he shook his head. 

“I somehow expect her to do that again if I start to move.” Another growl came from her as she tightened her teeth and he tightened his arms in response. 

“Not going to let you go, sweetheart. Even if you keep biting me,” he promised her as Matthew poured some more of whatever it was over her back, resulting in another flinch and her chomping down on his chest again. 

He clenched his teeth, reminding himself that his pain was not even near what she was experiencing but it still fucking hurt. 

Her teeth were **_sharp_**. 

Really, the Hyde’s living room floor was not where he had ever wanted her teeth in him. 

But then finally, Matthew was finished, her back was wrapped up and Daphne had been given her more painkillers, apparently far stronger than the stuff before. She lost consciousness while she still laid on his chest, her teeth finally loosening from his shoulder thankfully. 

He gave her over to his mother and Caroline, letting them clean off the blood of her and getting her dressed. 

He scrubbed off the blood that dyed his hands red and held on to the porcelain of the kitchen sink, desperately trying to not have a hysteric breakdown because that’s what he felt like at that moment. 

“Luke.” His father leaned against the kitchen next to him, a hand on his shoulder as he kept trying to scrub off her blood from his hands even when they were already clean. “She’ll be fine.”

Would she? Or would she hate him for the rest of her life?

“I bit her,” Luke spit out.“I took that choice from her. I never wanted to do that, dad.”He closed his eyes, grappling with the situation, trying to make some sense out of it. 

“I thought…once she knew what we were, once she accepted that…I would ask her if she wanted me to bite her but not…” he tried to explain, cutting himself off. He had bitten her. It had probably saved her life. And she had no choice in it whatsoever. 

“Look at me, Luke,” his father commanded softly, grabbing the back of his neck and making Luke look at him. 

“You didn’t take her choice away from her. That’s on Kyle. He took choices away from both of you. He laid his hands on your mate,” his father said, cold fury on his face and Luke clenched his fists. 

“If you don’t stop talking I am going to shift, find him and then rip out his throat,” Luke whispered. The fury he was feeling was like a separate entity in his chest. 

“Let me deal with him,” his father said softly. 

It stopped him in his tracks. Luke hadn’t even thought what he was going to do with Kyle. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to rip his throat apart for hurting Daphne, for putting him in the position of needing to bite her. He wanted to make him feel at least a tiny bit of the pain he made Daphne feel. 

And he couldn’t. They didn’t kill humans. 

If Kyle was another werewolf, hurting the mate of another werewolf would give Luke every right to kill him. But like this…

“What are you going to do?” Luke finally asked but his father just shook his head. 

“You don’t need to know, Luke,” he answered calmly. “Let us shoulder the weight of this. Go be with your mate. She’s more important than any sort of revenge ever will be. You are still young. You won’t need to shoulder the weight of being the alpha for a few years at this point.” 

“Protect her. Shelter her. Love her,” his father ordered him. “That’s the only job you have right now.”

Luke nodded. He would do that. He would. He would protect her with his life so something like that would never happen again. 

He heard a howl from outside, clearly upset and he flinched as he recognised, who had made the sound. 

“Ollie…” he whispered. 

“He’ll come around. Everybody will,” Matthew said as he entered the kitchen. “Why didn’t you say something before?” He asked Luke, interest clear in his voice and Luke could just shrug.

“It didn’t seem fair. I couldn’t tell her…I didn’t want everybody else to know before she knew,” he explained and then was unable not to snort darkly. “Well, that’s done now.” Everybody important knew now. 

“We’ll talk with as soon as she’s better…we’ll need to explain it to her,” Matthew told him with a sigh. “Go sit with her…Cecilia got her mattress in the living room…I think we’ll all feel better if she’s close to us.”


	15. Interlude: Some Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I contemplated putting it in a one-shot and not a chapter, but I think it needs to be here as it lays the foundations for some other stuff. So welcome Ollie's POV!
> 
> (also don't get used to daily updates, 2k are about what I can safely write in a day without it turning my brain to mush ;) )

_Family and friends are hidden treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches._

** _Wanda Hope Carter_ **

Oliver was furious. 

It didn’t happen often. He was easy to get along with most of the time. He never held a grudge for long. 

But right at that moment he was considering ton ever speak with Luke again. Or at least not speak to him for the next decade or more. Somehow he doubted though that that was going to be possible, so he let out his frustration on a poor fir that hadn’t done anything to him. 

_*You always had a flair for the dramatic,*_ his mate snorted from a safe distance, and while normally Grace would be able to get his mind off whatever was bothering him, right now she was also pissing him off. Badly. 

_*Is this funny to you? Kyle beat Daphne half to death, Grace! Her bone stuck out of her fucking leg! Do you know how much strength you need to break a femur? A LOT!_ ” He mentally rounded on his mate and then went back to decimating the fear, wood flying everywhere. 

As much as Ollie would prefer to actually do that to Kyle, a tree was the next best thing. 

_*No, this isn’t funny. He hurt a member of our pack. He hurt your little sister and Luke’s mate,*_ Grace gave back serious. He stopped his attack to the tree and turned to see her. Grace head was cocked to the side, amber eyes watching him attentively.

_*And while that is making you_ ** _furious_** _…you are hurt because Luke didn’t tell you.*_ Grace had always been far too perceptive for her own good. He couldn’t hide anything from her. Well, most of the time he didn’t even want to. He liked to tell himself that they didn't have secrets between them. 

_*He’s my best friend,*_ Ollie gave back, unable not to sound exasperated. Grace just snorted. 

_*And he made a decision on what he thought was best for his mate. Just like it’s his prerogative. She’s his. She’s the most important thing for him right now and he wants to protect her. That was the one thing he cared about,*_ Grace told him calmly. _*I may not agree with how he did it but you know that Luke didn’t set out to hurt you and keep you out. He wanted to keep Daphne safe.*_

_*I shouldn’t have introduced them,*_ Ollie murmured pouting and he could hear Grace amusement in her answer. 

* _Sure_ ,* she huffed. * _It’s not like they wouldn’t have met either way…or that you aren’t actually happy somewhere in the back of your brain that it’s Luke and not Jason or somebody else.*_

Ollie couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of Daphne having started something with Jason. Oh god. No thanks. The guy was a man whore. 

_*She’s too good for him,*_ he pouted and Grace came to his side and pressed her head against his. Her smell, similar to that of her brother wafted over him. It was fresh and clean, just that Grace’s scent had the undercurrent of the ocean there so much stronger than Luke.

_*She’s his. Just as he’s hers,*_ Grace answered softly. _*But I agree, my idiot of a brother got really lucky with her.*_

_*Did you know?*_ He asked, needing to know. For a moment she was quiet and he pulled back, staring at her. Had she known before and not told him? That stung. _*Grace?*_

_*I had my…guesses,* s_ he finally admitted. _*I didn’t know for sure. Only after I saw him biting her…that made it clear that she was everything he had always wanted.*_

A scream tore through the air and he needed to stop himself from not running straight back to the house. 

That was her. 

There was agony in that scream, pain and also fear. So much fear. 

_*She will be fine. Your dad will make sure of that,*_ Grace whispered. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him and he could just nod. 

Another scream. Choked off and then quiet. He closed his eyes, fighting against the imperative to **_protect._** She shouldn’t be in pain. They should be able to do **_something_** against it. 

And they couldn’t. Trying to help her, trying to help her body to heal was going to hurt her even more than the action that had resulted in the pain and injuries had. 

_*I want to kill Kyle,*_ he admitted in a whisper. 

_*Want to go to his house and rip out his throat?*_ Grace suggested, sounding like she was actually contemplating it. _*Nobody can say anything against a sudden animal attack, can they?*_

_*Your attempts to help my homicidal tendencies are heartwarming, Gracie,*_ he told her, amusement lacing in his voice but shaking his head. * _Your father will kill us both if we do that.*_

Grace made a noise between a huff and a snort and Ollie looked at her, unable to guess what she was thinking at that moment. 

_*Do you really think he will let this stand? He_ ** _won’t_** _. He may not be able to go after Kyle the traditional way…or even the lawful way but I would bet everything I have that after Thanksgiving Kyle is no longer in school and that Daphne never needs to see him again,*_ Grace said softly. _“He is the Alpha of one of the biggest packs in the United States, Ollie. He will take care of it. One way or another. Kyle messed with the wrong girl.*_

It was calming to know that. He would let the adults take care of it. And in the meantime…they would take care of Daphne. 

_*…want to go back?*_ Grace asked him and he shook his head. 

_*No, not yet. I don’t want to brawl with your brother yet,*_ he told her truthfully, resulting in a soft laugh vibrating in his head. 

_*I doubt you can talk him into a brawl…he’s gonna sit next to Daphne and spent the night staring at her,*_ Grace told him and he rolled his eyes. 

_*That’s slightly creepy.*_

_*She’s his mate,*_ Grace said like it explained everything and Ollie needed to agree. It did explain everything. 

_*When she decides she wants to be.*_ He finally said grudgingly. He would deal with it. Daphne deserved to be happy. And as long as Luke was on his best behaviour…

_*Oh don’t worry…I am pretty sure she already has a crush on him…that will come in handy…*_ Grace said thoughtfully and he stopped, resulting in her turning towards him.

_*Don’t…*_ He started and then broke off. _*She needs to make that decision on her own. She needs to know what comes with being his girlfriend. He’s the future alpha. An Alpha is only as strong as his mate.*_

He loved both of them. He didn’t want either of them hurt. Especially not Daphne. Luke would survive it. Somehow. He was strong, he had family to fall back on and he knew that. Daphne…Daphne wouldn’t. She wasn’t weak but she was fragile in ways that Luke wasn’t. There were too many cracks and scars in her past for her to just move on. 

_*I know. But…I want him to be happy. He’s my brother. I love him. He’s more family orientated than I am and we all know that he wants this. So much,*_ Grace admitted unapologetically. 

_*I know,”_ he sighed. They would figure it out. One way or another. 

_*Well…let’s see when they get together and then we can probably expect a wedding our senior year,*_ his mate told him, grinning in her wolf form which resulted in all of her white sharp teeth on display and he just groaned. 

Nope, not going there. 

_*That’s not funny, Grace.*_

_*It wasn’t supposed to be a joke, Ollie,*_ she deadpanned. _*Maybe get your suit from the dry cleaner, I am sure you will be best man.*_

His only reaction was a growl. 

****

“What’s that?” Her brother asked her as Leda handed over her tablet to him. She didn’t comment, letting him come to his own conclusions as he swiped through the few pictures she had. 

“A Children’s book?” Cyril asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“What do you think?” She asked him calmly. She watched his face, trying to see if there was anything there that to her that he was hiding something but the only thing she could see was his amusement about it. 

“Princess Plumella and her pet dragon Buttercup,” he snorted, “How very… _novel_.”

"It’s lovely,” Leda gave back calmly. It was lovely and cute and everything a children’s book should be. A happy world in which the problems were solved easily and taught children some needed lesson by the wayside of it. 

“That’s not a traditional manuscript,” Cyrol commented pointedly and she just shook her head. 

“No, it’s not.”

He looked at her then, his eyes meeting hers, a raised eyebrow. “ ** _Where_** did you find the book, little sister?”

“The niece of one of my author’s did it. I looked through her sketchbook. There was more than that, but that’s the most I could sneak pictures off,” Leda admitted honestly, resulting in a snort from her brother. 

“I want to offer her a contract,“ Leda told him and he looked back down at the pictures. 

“Name?” He asked her absentmindedly. 

“Daphne Emerson. She’s the niece of Caroline Hyde,” she answered. 

His head moved so fast that it wasn’t human any more. He stared at her and she met his gaze calmly. 

That answered her question. 

“How old…How old is she?” He asked her, his voice sounding nearly normal. If Leda wouldn’t know her brother as well as she did then maybe she would have believed his tone of voice. 

Cyril always had been good at wearing a mask. 

He hid the wolf away under tailored suits and glasses that everybody knew he didn't need. 

Leda did know him better than most though. 

She recognised the hitch in his breath but didn't comment. Not yet. 

“16,” she answered easily. “She’s…talented. Signing her on now could result in a lot of money for Randall Publishing in the next few decades”

“You were always good at spotting that,” Cyril answered softly, swiping through the photos again.“Alright,” he agreed. “Let’s see what she can give us.” 


	16. Chapter 12

_Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure._

** _Bob Marley_ **

** **

“If you want to beat me up, I would appreciate it if you can wait for a few days,” Luke said softly when he could hear Ollie step in the living room. 

He was sitting next to Daphne’s head, not touching her. He didn’t deserve to touch her. 

Not if he had already managed to hurt her like this, to treat her like this. 

He had forced the transformation onto her, regardless of what his father had said. Maybe she would have survived without his bite…now she needed to deal with it. Now she would become a wolf just like him. 

And the worst part was that a small part of him was pleased by that. He had sired her when would always be a werewolf that would be created through his saliva even when she would refuse him as her mate. 

Her scent had shifted slightly already. Still sweetness and warmth but now also the undercurrent that made it clear that she was, in fact, a werewolf. 

And the change was taking slowly but surely. She was feverish, sweat clinging to her face, her hands clenched in the bedding. 

Ollie’s snort pulled him out of his thoughts as he sat down opposite him. 

“I am not going to beat you up. It wouldn’t really make an impact if we both know that you would win if you actually put your mind to it,” Ollie told him with a long-suffering sigh. 

Luke could just chuckle drily at that. “I am sorry,” he apologised, growing serious again. 

“I know,” Ollie gave back. “Thank you. You saved her life, Luke,” Ollie told him and he wanted to protest. 

“You did. It was your bites that stopped the bleeding in the end,” Matthew gave back gently as he walked over to them, kneeling next to Daphne. 

Luke watched how he touched her forehead and then checked her wounds with the knowledgeable hands of a doctor.

A shiver run through Daphne when she whimpered softly.

“She’s running a fever but she will be fine,” Matthew explained softly. “Just let her sleep for the night. Ollie, will you put on a fire, please?” He asked of his son as he took the blanket from the back of the couch and put it over Daphne that continued to shake.

“I am going to get down our mattress in a bit…I think we’ll all feel better if we are close to her,” Matthew continued. 

Grace came in the room as well then, sitting next to Daphne,

“Did Dad…” she asked Luke hesitantly but he just nodded. He knew exactly what Grace was asking about without her spelling it out. 

“He’s said he would _take_ _care_ of it,” Luke answered. 

He kept sitting there, unmoving, even when Grace and Ollie let him alone after a little while. He tended to the fire, keeping it burning, hoping that maybe the heat would help her. 

The shivers that ran through her didn’t subside, her teeth starting to chatter as well. The sounds were horrid to him, together with the rattle in her lungs with every breath she took. 

By now it wasn’t the fear of her dying anymore. She would be fine. Somehow. 

The change was taking and a werewolf would be able to survive what happened to her easily. It would never have happened to her in the first place if she had been a werewolf. Even as tiny as she was, Daphne would have been able to kick the living daylights out of Kyle if she had the strength of a werewolf.

There was no need to think about this. And it wasn’t going to help against the agitated wolf in the back of his head that wanted nothing more than to make Kyle feel just as scared and terrified as Daphne must have been. 

Luke would give everything to inflect even a tiny amount of the pain that Daphne had felt onto kyle. He deserved it. He deserved so much worse but Luke wouldn’t do anything. He wouldn’t be able to keep himself in check, he was very much aware of that. 

“Here, Lucas.” His mother put a plate with six sandwiches and a glass of milk next to his knee and he looked up from his vigil when she sat down next to him, gently pulling Daphne’s blankets higher around her. 

“Are you angry at me too?” He asked her with a soft sigh but she just shook her head, nearly amused before sobering. 

“No,” she answered with a sigh. “I wish you had told me earlier. I understand your reasoning though.” 

Then she looked at Daphne again, a soft smile on her face as she brushed her hair out of her face. “You got lucky, she’s very pretty,” she told him with a wink and he snorted. 

“She’s beautiful,” he corrected his mother who laughed gently before she touched his cheek. 

“I love you, Lucas. And whatever happens, you will always have us.”

“I love you too, mom,” he gave back, leaning into the touch, for a moment closing his eyes. 

He had his family, his pack. He was always going to have this. And he wasn’t going to fuck this up with Daphne. She was too important to fail. Failure was not an option. Not for this. 

“She’s going to love you too, you know that, right?” His mother said softly and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“God I hope so,” he whispered. He hoped that so much. 

“She will. She will adore you,” his mother said with conviction and for a moment Luke allowed himself to believe that. 

To believe that all was going to be alright, that Daphne was not going to hate him for changing her, was not going to hate him for pushing all of this on her in the situation she was currently in. 

He was so looking forward to seeing her shifted, see what colour her wolf would end up being. Would she be black like him? Grey? Brown? Would she stay small like she currently was or would her wolf be bigger?

Luke couldn’t wait for that. He wanted that. He wanted her at his side, running through the forest, maybe even in the winter, a crisp white snowfall, a full moon illuminating the forest…he wanted that. 

Even when a full moon didn't force a transformation...shifting with it on the horizon was special. 

He looked outside when he heard a noise from the forest, a howl. His uncle? It sounded like Drew. 

Still, the knowledge that another wolf was near his mate, even when it was pack, even then…it put Luke on edge and brought the wolf too close to the surface for his liking. 

He carefully touched the blankets, pulled them tighter over Daphne’s body. He stood up then, careful not to disturb her. 

“Where are you going?” Ollie asked him, sticking out his head from the kitchen. 

“I am going to sleep outside,” He answered calmly. Outside. In his wolf form. And if anybody dared to get close to her, they were going to regret it. 

“I am sure we can scrounge up another mattress, Luke,” Caroline said softly but he shook his head. 

“If something happens, I **_need_** to be able to protect her.” 

***

Daphne didn’t know what woke her. 

She was comfortable for the first time in weeks, her back didn’t feel like it was on fire anymore and she was…she was _safe_. 

She was cold as well, so very cold and couldn’t hold back another shiver from running over her body and tried to pull the blankets higher. 

Suddenly a noise came through. Like a step but softer. A creak of wood.

Daphne opened her eyes. 

She didn’t know where she was. But that wasn’t the problem. 

She opened her eyes and looked straight into a pair of amber coloured eyes. 

She stared, for a moment frozen into place. 

So was the… ** _wolf_** that these eyes belonged to. 

He was **_black_**. 

He was **_huge_**. 

He was **_maybe 3 feet_** away from her. The only thing between them a thin glass door. 

Amber eyes stared at her and he didn’t move a single muscle. She stared at him. And then she saw the **_bloody carcass_** in his mouth, blood dripping down onto the porch and she screamed. 

A scream tore out of her throat even when she was already curling together and bracing for impact. 

She had never in her life felt fear like in that moment. Not when she expected him to jump at her and kill her, behead her just as he had done to these poor rabbits. 

There was a noise behind her, voices, cursing. 

“Daphne!” Her aunt was there, touching her and the screams stopped replaced by hysterical sobbing. 

“I’ll go after him,” Ollie whispered and Daphne tried to reach for her cousin, tried to stop him from going after the monster that was waiting outside for him. 

“No, no, no, Ollie!” She brought out, crying hysterically, her aunt cradling her and gently rocking her. 

“Shhhh, Honey, you are safe, you are okay….all good,” Caroline whispered, pressing a kiss against her forehead. 

“Wo…wolf,” she brought out, crying like a child, unable to form the words, sobs shaking her body while her aunt was cradling her. 

“I know, I know,” Caroline whispered, gently rocking her and her hands fisted in her aunts top, burying her face in her neck, still sobbing hysterically. 

Fear was gripping her with an ice-cold hand and she couldn’t…she couldn’t.

“You are safe, Daphne,” Matthew repeated gently, somewhere on her side, his hand gently carding through her hair. “Nobody is going to hurt you. Not anymore. Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise.”

“W…W…Wolf.” She pressed out again. 

What if it was going to hurt her **_family_**? What if it was just **_waiting_**? What if it was **_killing Ollie_** right at that moment?

“The wolf won’t hurt you. You are safe here,” Matthew repeated softly. But it didn’t help. Nothing seemed to help. 

Breathing became difficult when she thought about the **_wolf_** , that **_beast_** , the **_monster_** , a **_murderer_** with a bloody dead animal in his mouth, on the porch just feet away from her family, just feet away from **_murdering_** them all in their sleep. 

“Honey…” Caroline said trying to calm her but it didn’t help. Breathing was difficult, she didn’t feel like she became enough oxygen even when she started to pull in breath after breath, quicker and **_quicker_**. 

“Daphne, Daphne, look at me. You are safe,” Matthew said soothingly but at that time she was already too far gone to even listen to anything else but the rushing of her own blood in her ears, feel the ice-cold grip of fear around her lungs that made it impossible to breathe. 

“I am going to give you something. It’s going to make you sleepy. Caroline won’t go anywhere, I promise. You are safe, sweetie,” her uncle continued. She felt the prick of a needle in the crook of her elbow and then…suddenly, she felt like she could breathe again. 

She pulled in a greedy breath of air, her hands being taken in Matthew's. 

"Take a deep breath, Daphne,” he commanded. She obeyed, breathing in greedily. She felt light-headed and closed her eyes, her body slumping together. ”In…and out. There you go.“ 

The breathing became easier and bone-deep exhaustion set in.

Caroline pulled her to lay down again, holding her while Daphne still breathed harshly. Her aunt gently petted her hair, humming in the back of her throat. 

“You are **_safe_** , honey. I am not going anywhere,” she promised gently. 

Daphne believed her.

***

Her scream was the thing that shook him out of his animalistic instincts and right back into his human mindset again. 

Suddenly he was standing on the Matthew’s and Caroline’s porch, two rabbits in his jaw, blood dripping down onto the porch and his mate was screaming bloody murder. 

**_Oh_**. 

Probably because of his own bloody murder. 

He let the rabbits fall out of his mouth, scrambling backwards, down the porch to somewhere where she wouldn’t be able to see him. 

That really couldn’t have gone any **_worse_** , could it?

_*Fuck, Luke, you scared the living daylights out of her,*_ Ollie snorted just moments later, appearing between the trees while Luke was staring forlornly in the direction of the house and was cursing himself out. _*I take it you weren’t actually aware that you became a rabbit hunting serial killer,*_ Ollie said, sounding decisively amused, a sentiment that Luke wasn’t sharing at all. _*I am never going to let you hear the end of it. For once_ ** _you_** _let your instincts take over.*_

Normally Luke had an iron grip on his instincts. Everything so that his wolf wasn’t going to come to the surface. He buried it deep under an easy-going demeanour. He was an alpha and that could become overpowering to people easily. So he kept the wolf as far locked inside himself as he could. 

_*I thought letting the wolf take over would help with the raging instincts,”_ Luke defended himself, even more amusement pouring from Ollie as a result of that. 

_*You did go with your instincts alright. Beheaded rabbits though? Buy a girl some flowers first,*_ Ollie advised him with a laugh. 

_*He wanted…she needs to_ ** _eat,_** _*_ Luke growled back mentally. She was too thin. She needed the **_strength_**. 

And rabbits were plentiful and easily available. He could probably be thankful that the wolf hadn’t decided that a mountain lion was the way to go. 

_*And she will. She probably also would have eaten far quicker if you didn’t push her straight into a panic attack though.*_

He cursed in his head. Loudly. 

_*Hey, don't go straight into self-loathing. Give her some time…and you probably also just pushed the whole werewolf conversation straight onto tomorrow…or later today, it’s morning already,*_ Ollie continued, growing serious. 

**Great.**

_*She is going to hate me,*_ Luke huffed but Ollie just sighed. 

_*You don’t know that. Give her a chance to form her own opinion. This is a lot…and with everything that happened before…*_ Ollie said softly, the wolf burying his claws in the forest floor. 

_*If her mother wasn’t already dead, I would want to have a go at her,”_ Luke growled. 

Her mother. If Michelle Emerson wouldn’t be 6 foot under at that moment, Luke would want to kill her himself. 

_“Since when are you so bloodthirsty?”_ Ollie tried to joke but Luke just looked at him. 

_“Since I saw my mate bathed in blood with bruises on every square inch of her and cigarette marks on her legs,”_ Luke gave back calmly. Ollie just sighed at that but Luke knew that his friend was angry in his own way.

Angry about a lot of things…but to know that his **_own blood_** had hurt another member of his pack…that would be a feeling of **_betrayal_** unlike any other. 

Luke stayed in the forest until the sun had risen high and he knew it must be around 8 before he finally ran home, not before making sure that Sebastian and Andrew were both near the Hyde’s House.

He was not going anywhere near her in his form right now. One scare a day was more than enough for her. 

He ran home, not surprised to find a pile of his clothes on the porch and shifted back to get dressed. 

His father stepped out of the French Door just as he finished pulling a shirt over his head. 

“We’ll talk with Daphne today. Your…” ** _nightly excursion_** ”,” his father made quotations marks with his fingers around the words, “has made that a priority. We can’t afford her to fear us.” 

“Is she well enough for that?” Luke asked as he pulled a sweater over his head as well. He couldn’t help but worry and wanting to wait for a little while longer. Just a few more hours where she didn’t hate him. 

“Still running a fever, but Matthew said that she will wake up in a few hours,” his father calmed his worries about her well being. “And then she should be…ready for that conversation.”Luke could just snort. 

Daphne was **_never_** going to be ready for that conversation. 

“We have a pack meeting this evening,” his dad added softly. Right. 

With that, keeping it a secret would officially be over.

Nothing he could do to change it now. He had changed a human, he had staked his claim like the animal that lived within him and now…now he needed to stake his claim inside his own pack as well. She was his. If not as his mate then at least as the werewolf he had sired. 

“Also, Luke…beheaded rabbits… ** _really_**?” His father asked him, amused and Luke glared at him.

**_“She needs to eat!”_ **

****

When she woke up again, she was laying on the couch in the living room and she startled awake suddenly. She shot up and regretting it instantly when the world started to tilt on its axis and her whole body protested. 

“Take a deep breath, Daphne,” her uncle’s voice was there, calming her and she listened to him, deeply breathing, pressing her eyes closed again. 

“Does anything hurts?” Matthew asked her and she took inventory of her body. Her back was hurting weakly, but there was a hot pain at the bag of her neck, her wrist and her leg. Both of her legs hurt, but the right one was worse. 

"My neck hurts. And my legs…” Daphne brought out, her throat scratchy. She lifted her right arm, her wrist thickly wrapped in a white bandage. “What happened to me?” She asked as Matthew gently helped her to sit up and then sat next to her, his hands touching her face. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” He asked her as he shone a penlight in her eyes and she followed his finger with her eyes. 

What did she remember?

It had been Friday. She had been in school. Her back had hurt…she had gone to Art class but…

“Art class was cancelled…i remember that,” Daphne answered hesitantly. 

“And after that, Honey?” Her aunt asked her, worry obvious in her tone of voice. What was wrong? What day did they have currently? How much time had she lost?

She just shook her head. 

“How…how did I come home?” How? She couldn’t remember. She could remember nothing after Art Class…and she still didn’t know what had happened to her to leave her with what seemed to be at least a sprained wrist. 

She blinked again, now suddenly feeling that the skin on her face felt swollen and tender, too tight.

“Careful,” her aunt gently caught her hand before it could touch her face. “You have a few mean bruises going on there.”

“What happened to me?” Daphne asked, tears starting to collect in her eyes. This was…all of it was too much…she didn’t understand…she didn’t know what had happened. She didn’t remember. Why didn’t she remember?

“It’s alright, Daphne,” Matthew soothed her. “I promise we are going to explain it but do you think you could eat something beforehand?” He asked her and she nodded hesitantly. Ollie moved in her field of vision, handing her a plate with a sandwich on it. She took the sandwich and nearly threw the plate to the floor when a howl cut through the silence. 

She couldN’t help but shudder when she did remember. 

Amber eyes staring at her. A wolf. Black. Big…Blood. So much blood. 

“The **_wolf,_** ” Daphne pressed out“Did…he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. I am fine. All limbs still attached,“ her cousin answered easily wriggling his fingers in her direction. 

"It killed a rabbit,“ Daphne whispered, remembering the blood that had dripped down on the porch, deep scarlet red blood just drip, drip, **_dripping_** on the wood. 

“Eat, honey,” Caroline told her again, gently pushing the sandwich in her direction and Daphne shook herself forcible out of her memories. 

She at the sandwich, starting to shake again halfway through. 

“You are still running a fever. Your body is trying to starve off any possible infection,” Matthew told her, draping another blanket over her shoulders and Caroline handed her hot cocoa after she was finished with eating half the sandwich. She couldn’t eat more than that. 

***

Luke had been dreading the talk since he had known that Daphne was his mate. 

He had been dreading the moment that he knew she would look at him in disgust and fear. 

And now it had come. 

They had gone over to the Hyde’s House, his father’s jaw set in what Luke knew was both determination and anxiety. Ollie had opened the door. 

And Daphne was sitting on the couch, curled up, blankets all around her, bruises still standing out. 

She had smiled when she had seen him, hands clasped tightly around a mug of hot chocolate but had become apprehensive when she saw his parents enter the room as well.

“We need to have a talk, Daphne,” Caroline started gently, sitting down next to her niece, and Luke watched how Daphne started to get even more anxious.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked, her voice so shaky and unsure that Luke wanted nothing more but to wrap himself around her like a human tortoiseshell to keep her safe from harm. He couldn’t. As much as he wanted to. 

“No, sweetheart. You did nothing wrong,” Caroline said soothingly, reaching out to touch her and Daphne first flinched away from the touch before melting into it. 

"How are you feeling?” Luke’s father asked, trying and failing to appear casual. Luke knew that his father was trying very much to keep his larger than life presence scaled back, trying not to make Daphne even more fearful than she already was. 

“I am fine,” Daphne answered softly and Luke didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry. She was actually being honest there. For her…this was fine. Somebody had beat her to a bloody pulp and she told them she was fine. 

He wondered if she even remembered how it felt to not be in pain or if it was just something she had gotten used to over the years. 

“Do you remember what happened?” His father asked, gently, keeping his voice calm and not portraying any anger whatsoever that Luke knew that his father felt. 

A human had been hurt on his land. That was enough to make his father very, very angry.

“No, I don’t,” Daphne gave back. She didn't look at him, she looked down at her hands, at was her wrists that were still wrapped in white bandages. Luke knew what they hid. Namely the scars that he had given her. 

“You walked home from school. Kyle surprised you,” Matthew began to explain, resulted in a fearful gasp from Daphne as her hands clenched in her blanket. “We don’t know exactly what kind of… _altercation_ happened but when Luke found you two hours later, you were unconscious in the forest and had been there for at least an hour if not more.”

“You were nearly frozen. You suffered from immense bleeding from your head and your thigh where you had an open break. Your femur had snapped and pierced through your skin,” Matthew continued. “You had immense bleeding all over your body, especially concentrated on your face and your midsection. At least 2 broken ribs.”

To hear all of it…to hear it all counted up like it…it made Luke want to go find Kyle and kill him. Kill him and then gut him like a fish. Or maybe torture him first. 

“But…I am fine now. It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Daphne whispered, hesitantly. Luke wanted to protest, wanted to tell her all about the pain markers that he could easily recognise in her scent.

She moved stiffly. She was still in pain. 

Just that the pain level for her…for her, it was probably easily able to be ignored. 

“We don’t know if you would have survived your injuries if…” Matthew broke off, looking at Stephen, silently asking for help and Luke’s father continued with a sigh. 

“Do you believe in God?” His father asked Daphne and Luke couldn’t help but flinch minutely at that question. 

“What?” Daphne brought out, sounding completely bewildered, her big violet eyes staring at his father like he was literally insane. Luke supposed he sounded like that to her. 

“Supernatural beings? Fate, Destiny?” Stephen Schuyler continued resulting in Daphne just raising one eyebrow in return. 

“We make our own destiny,” his mate gave back decisively. 

“What if I told you that there was such a thing as supernatural creatures, living amongst humans?” His father continued 

“I would ask you if you read to much Urban Fantasy,” Daphne said, amusement in her voice. Luke needed to give it to her, she was taking that far better than he had believed she would. 

“Werewolves exist.”

***

Daphne couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of that situation. 

“Werewolves,” she repeated, unable to hold back the giggles that were building in the back of her throat. Oh god. If that was a joke, it was working. 

Sure, werewolves were real. What was the next thing that would happen? Would Luke proclaim his undying love for her? Both of these things had around the same chance of happening. 

Namely none. 

“You don’t believe us,” Luke’s father said calmly and Daphne just shrugged. 

“Anything else but Werewolves?” Daphne asked seriously, trying hard to not start laughing again. “The Tooth Fairy? Easter Bunny? Vampires?”

“Not that we know off. There are other species of shapeshifters though,” he answered her sounding completely earnest and Daphne nodded her agreement biting back the laughter bubbling in the back of her throat. 

“Werewolves are real. I am one,” Luke’s father repeated again and Daphne nodded once again, biting back the laughter. 

“So I am supposed to believe you that you change into a big dog,” Daphne repeated. **_Sure_**. Why not. 

“Yes,” Stephen Schuyler agreed. She cocked her head to the side. 

“Do you play fetch?” She asked him interested, wondering if she got obnoxious he would finally have enough of that joke and tell her off for being disrespectful, but he just snorted. 

“No,” he gave back with a shake of the head. “I am really sorry for this, but I am pretty sure that’s the only way you are going to believe me.”

She stared at him as he suddenly stood up and she expected him to slap her, but he stood rooted in his spot. And then suddenly his hazel eyes shifted yellow, his cheekbones contorted, and dark grey hair started to spread across his face.

Suddenly it stopped, leaving Luke’s father looking like he wasn’t even human and Daphne’s mouth dropped open. 

**_Oh god._ **

They were real. He had told her the truth. He was a werewolf. 

_Werewolves were real?_

Werewolves were **_real_**. Luke’s father was a werewolf. A werewolf. He changed into a fucking wolf. On command. 

He changed into an animal. 

A wolf. 

Daphne just stared at him as suddenly the shift reversed, leaving Stephen Schuyler just like he had looked 5 minutes ago. 

“Believing me now?” He asked her calmly and she just kept staring at him. 

“I think I am going insane,” she whispered. Insane. She probably had hallucinations. Maybe she hadn’t had enough to drink. Or eat. Or she was having weird dreams. 

Maybe she had brain damage.

“You aren’t. You are completely sane, I promise you that,” the _werewolf_ **_(WEREWOLF?!)_** told her with a quirk of his lips. 

Right sure. Sane. 

Werewolves. Completely normal…nothing to worry about at all…

…so that wolf she had a screaming match that morning…had he even been a _real_ wolf? 

“That wolf…on the porch…that was a werewolf, wasn’t it?” Daphne asked softly, closing her eyes. A human had been the one killing that poor rabbit in front of her. 

“Yes,” Luke’s father agreed with a sigh. “Werewolves mate. For life normally.”

That was a weird topic change. But Daphne looked up nevertheless, listening to his explanation. 

“There is…the first time mates meet there is a **_pull_**. You can’t explain it, not really, but it’s there. It’s the person you feel safest with, the person you would trust with your life. You want to spend time with them. You want them to be happy,” he told her. 

To be honest…that…that sounded perfect. 

“You have a choice, you always have a choice. A mating pull is a…possibility. Nothing more. Mating bonds can break down through betrayal, lies, bad communication…a mating pull doesn’t always guarantee you a happy ending…but it does in an overwhelming majority of cases.” 

“Why are you telling me that?” Daphne asked him hesitantly, a part of her brain already knowing the answer but she didn’t want to **_hope_**.

“Because the wolf on the porch was your mate,” he told her calmly. 

“I am not a werewolf! I am human!” She protested. And then suddenly…a crystal clear memory came to her mind. The feeling of sharp teeth at her neck…at her wrist…at her leg. 

“I…I _was_ human,” she corrected herself quietly. “There was a wolf there…when I was hurt…he was there…He **_bit_** me. He… ** _changed_** me.” 

“He did,” Luke’s father agreed with her gently. 

“Why?” She brought out, pressing a hand against her chest. A werewolf…she was…there was a **_monster_** living within her.

“Werewolves have a higher pain tolerance and their healing is accelerated. If he didn’t change you…you wouldn’t have survived it.” Stephen explained gently. “And that…that was a risk he couldn’t take. Not with his mate at risk.”

Her mate had saved her life. 

So there was just one question left.

“So... ** _Who_** is my mate?” Daphne asked, not looking up. Did she want to know? What if it was….

“I am.” 

She looked up, Luke moving towards her, her eyes widening. No. No, this couldn’t...

“No,” she brought out, her mouth suddenly dry. “No, you can’t be.” He met her gaze calmly, kneeling down next to the couch, not reaching out to her, but meeting her eyes. 

“I am not…I am not what you want,” she protested. She wasn’t…she had no chance with him. She wasn’t good enough, she wasn’t pretty enough, she wasn’t enough for Luke. 

“How could you know what I want, Sweetheart?” He asked her gently, reaching to touch her face. She let him make contact, his skin warm and she felt safe.

Safe. He was the embodiment of safety for her.

She couldn’t help herself from leaning into the touch, closing her eyes. 

She was safe. His thumb rubbed over her cheek and she let him. 

And then she remembered who she was and who he was and that this was never going to work out. 

“I am not…I can’t do this,” she pressed out, pulling back from him and he let his hand fall. 

“Nobody is expecting you to make a decision now,” Luke’s father said softly. “Think about it. Rest. It’s not a decision you should take lightly.” 

She couldn’t…

“No, I can’t…I can’t be what you need,” Daphne repeated. “I can’t be what you deserve,” she brought out, tears threatening to spill again. 

“Sleep. Rest. Eat. We’ll talk when you are feeling better,” Luke told her then, a command in his voice and she wanted to protest, wanted to both send him away and beg him to stay, unable to hold back a sob threatening to overwhelm her. 

“You are in pain and completely overwhelmed,” Luke said softly.  
“Think about it,” he whispered, looking at her with soft hazel eyes, gently, so very gently touching her face again. “I am so very sorry for hurting you. I never wanted to do that. It won’t happen again, not if I can help it,” he promised her. 

“And you are **_exactly_** what I want.” 

Her eyes filled with tears at that. She had never…never been enough. For anybody. 

He pressed a kiss against her forehead and she let him, for a moment just soaking up that he was so near her. 

And then he left the room, striding out and suddenly, Daphne was just feeling empty. 


	17. Chapter 13

_Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart._

** _Washington Irving_ **

“You bit a human?”

That snapped the carefully maintained control he had tried to keep for the last few hours. Ever since he had left Daphne’s side he had been off-kilter. He didn’t want to leave her alone. He had no wish for that. But she needed time. Time to come to a decision without him lurking around and he could give her that. 

Or so he had thought. 

He had tried to keep calm when the pack came together for the meeting but the exclamation of Joseph Newton, one of the older members of the pack…that broke something inside him wide, wide open. 

“If I didn’t, then she would be dead!” He roared, his father laying a hand on his should trying to hold him back as tremors ran through him. 

He needed to force the wolf back down in a way he didn’t need to do often at all, forcibly calming the waves of tremors wrecking through him. 

He remembered Daphne’s red blood on the white snowy ground, remembered the white of her bone sticking out of her leg, the way her breathing had been harsh and punctuated with whimpers. 

“My son did what he had to save his mate. Did you expect him to do something else?” His father asked icily. “Did you expect him to let his mate die in front of him from injuries that a bite would heal?”

She had been in so much pain. She wouldn’t have survived it if he wouldn’t have bitten her. 

And that…that was just not acceptable. 

She should have a long and happy life, be able to get married and have children and…and he could just hope that he would be the husband and father to theses eventual cubs that she would give birth to. 

“No,” Newton shook his head. “He did what he **_had_** to. It should never have come to this, however.”

There Luke was in total agreement. 

“What did you do Kyle Wilder?” Another member of the pack piped up. 

“It’s an interesting conundrum. He as human hurt another human, but he also interfered with a mate bond,” Newton commented. “And the mate of the future alpha at that.”

“I took care of it,” his father said calmly. “He will attend a military academy in Washington State. Maybe they will straighten him out.”

That’s all?

Luke wanted revenge. Luke wanted to taste Kyle’s blood, wanted to put the fear of God into him and to rip him apart. He had hurt Luke’s mate. He deserved to suffer. 

“That’s all?” Kiana asked unbelievingly and Luke balled his hands into fists. Oh, how he would love to…

“I have learned that while revenge tastes good for a while, it’s the protection of our families that’s the most **_important_**.” His father gained murmurs of agreements with that. “He will never set a foot into our territory again. If he does…he will **_regret_** it.”

“Other packs could see this as weakness,” Andrew, Luke’s uncle cautioned his father softly but Stephen Schuyler just snorted. 

“He’s a 17-year-old boy. Yes, he nearly beat a girl half to death that’s around half his size, but he is still a boy. I am willing to give him one more chance to straighten out. If he doesn’t…I will deal with it.”

“Prosecuting him is out. We can’t deal with it the human way. Not without trying to explain how Luke found her and why she didn’t go to a hospital and a whole lot of other issues,” Sebastian threw in gently as well. 

“If he doesn’t…then we will deal with him,” his father vowed quietly. “He won’t **_ever_** come near her again.” 

Ever. Not if Luke had a single word to say about it. Kyle would never come near Daphne again. 

“And what does she want?” Kiana asked, crossing her arms. “She’s the hurt party. Shouldn’t she have a say in that? He hurt a member of our pack. He beat her half to death. He broke her bones, he made it needed that Luke bit her. What does she **_want_**?”

What did Daphne want? To be honest…Luke had no idea. She seemed to want peace and quiet most of all, being so very shy and calm all the time. Now he knew why. 

Her mother had probably beat her up if she was anything less than silence. 

“She wants a family. That’s the only thing she wants,” Caroline said softly, her eyes shining. 

“We can provide her with that,” Luke’s father said, a simple promise. The rest of the room murmuring her agreement. 

“Congratulations, Lucas. May she be everything you need her to be,” Joseph Newton told him calmly and he met the older man’s eyes. 

“She will be,” he said with conviction. 

She would be glorious. 

If she ever gave him a chance. 

***

Daphne had gone back to her room, her legs protesting but she hadn’t cared. Ollie had lugged the mattress back to her bed and she curled on the bed, unable not to reach out to touch the black wolf that was painted on her wall just within her reach. 

**_You should put a wolf somewhere._ **

She had painted him on her wall. He was there.

Daphne buried her face in her pillow pulling the blankets tight around herself. 

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Werewolves couldn’t be real. They were a figment of her imagination, goodness knew she had a lot of it. 

This was all a dream. It was a dream. She would just go to sleep and then it would be alright again. 

She did go to sleep. 

And then she woke up. 

Her body felt like it was on fire. 

It burned and burned and burned in her chest. 

Everything was loud. Too loud. She couldn’t make out the noises, she didn’t know what it was. It was loud and it was scary and **_she didn’t know what it was._** She hadn’t heard it before, not so much at the **_same time._**

It was hundreds of noises all of them over each other

She could hear voices, too loud voices, the words so loud that she couldn’t understand them when they echoed through her brain. It was painful and overwhelming and Daphne’s breathing quickened as it continued to be thrown at her again and again and again.

Then there was the taste of the salad and mustard and beef on her tongue from the sandwiches she had eaten, just that the taste was so strong that it was unrecognisable. It burned in the back of her throat, just like it was burning in her chest, the pain flicking up through her throat. 

And then suddenly there was a touch on her arm, just that it didn’t feel like a touch. It felt like somebody was burning her with a hot pan and Daphne jerked her arm away, her eyes opening up and then it was another sense added to the cacophony of them bombarding her already. 

It was too bright, too painful and her eyes slammed shut again when she tried to turn away from all the pain, trying to curl up in a ball and **_just make it all stop._**

“Daphne,” her name echoed in her head and she whimpered in pain. So much pain. 

“What is wrong with her?” Another voice asked, also echoing in her head and she shook her head, wanting to escape the pain. 

It didn’t help. 

There was more talking, words that she couldn’t understand and then suddenly…suddenly there was another noise, droning out the others. It helped. 

“Concentrate on that. Just that,” a voice whispered, a stab to her head but then it was quiet again. 

And slowly the pain began to recede. 

She opened her eyes, this time the curtains were drawn, to find her uncle crouching next to her bed. 

“It’s white noise,” her uncle explained, his voice near silent. 

“Everything Hurts,” Daphne breathed out, her body protesting her communications and she closed her eyes again, another roman escaping her. 

“I know it does,” Matthew told her soothingly.“Just keep listening to that.”

“Your senses went into overdrive. It happens, when the change takes,” he explained to her his voice quiet and sure. And still painful but less so.“Your senses are going to stay sensitive for a little while longer while you adapt to them. They spiked, that’s why you are in so much pain. Just keep on listening to this, it should level out in a few hours.”

It didn’t. 

It felt like an eternity passed, the pain a constant in her body that nothing seemed to help about. 

It was torture. 

She would gladly have her mother have another go at her with a belt or one of her whiskey bottles…just please let this pain stop. 

She couldn’t move. Movement made it worse. It skyrocketed her sense of touch, the bedding suddenly scratching and hurting even when it was soft. 

So she just laid there, rolled together as tightly as she could, hands clenched in the bedding and just wanting it all to stop. 

Everything hurt. 

“Daphne?” Her uncle asked her and she opened her eyes, the movement hurting her. “Is it any better?”

“Make it stop,” she begged, her voice breaking when the pain began rising again. “Please.”

“Oh honey, if I could I would,” he told her softly. “Close your eyes again, I’ll figure something out.”

“What’s wrong with her?” A voice asked, sounded worried, but Daphne was in too much pain to identify it. “Her senses should have levelled out by now, Matthew.”

“I know.”

***

On Monday morning school started again and he was hating every minute. 

Luke was hanging on on a thin thread and everybody knew it. His father had thought that the normality would maybe calm his wolf but it managed to do the exact opposite. 

His wolf thought that running around the Hyde’s house and hunting some more rabbits would be a much better use of his time than to learn about the revolutionary war, and Luke happened to agree. 

He would only be able to protect Daphne if he was near her. And not if he was sitting around at school useless. 

Kyle#s absence had been explained away with him suddenly attending a military school in Washington State and Luke still wondered what his father had told Kyle’s parents to get them to agree to that. 

Somehow he didn’t want to know. 

Jacob White, a fellow junior took Kyle’s place on the football team and while it was nice to know that the guy wouldn’t push a knife in Luke’s back when he wasn’t looking…Luke still didn’t enjoy training that afternoon very much. He tried to get his mind off Daphne, tried to get his head in the game and failed horribly. 

“Dad asked you to come back home with us,” Ollie told him softly when they were on the way to the cars and he stopped dead in his tracks. He pushed down the hope that wanted to bloom in his chest and turned to his friend, one eyebrow raised. 

“Why?” He asked calmly, far more calmly than he felt. She wouldn’t…he doubted that she had decided that she wanted him near her. It hadn’t even been 24 hours until they had dropped their bombshell on her. And 24 hours was nothing as she needed to make an actual life-changing decision. 

“Please, just come…” Ollie whispered, nearly pleading with him. “It’s about Daphne. She isn’t…the change isn’t taking as it should be.”

“What. Do. You. Mean?” Luke growled. 

He had pushed enough saliva in her wounds that this shouldn’t be a problem. He had seen her bloody wolf resurface, she had put her teeth in his damn shoulder. Her instincts had been primed. 

There shouldn’t be any kind of problem with that. 

“Her senses are going haywire,” Ollie admitted finally. “She didn’t sleep at all last night. She’s in constant pain and dad can’t fix it.” 

She had been in pain for the better part of a day and nobody had **_told_** him?

“Are you sure you should drive right now, Luke?” His sister asked him calmly and he shook himself out of the rage that wanted to build in his chest. 

“No,” he snapped, forcibly calming the shakes running through his body.

He knew why her senses were going haywire. And he was pretty sure that Matthew should have realised that before just now. 

Her senses were reaching out and searching for him. And as Daphne never had any training at tracking anybody, her senses were stretched thin and it was overwhelming her. Which resulted in the pain she was feeling. 

She was in pain. And he could fix it. 

“Go,” Grace told him. “I’ll take the car.”

That was the only thing he needed. He jogged in the direction of the forest, not even stopping to remove his clothing as he shifted. He could feel the ripping of the clothing but at that moment…he didn’t care. At all. 

Clothes could be either repaired or replaced. He never had lost control before like that, had never managed to break any clothing as Ollie had done more than a few times so Luke thought he was probably due. 

And then he ran. 

It took less than 10 minutes to reach the Hyde’s House, probably helped by the sprint he had broken out in and he was only slightly surprised to see his mother stand on the back porch. 

“Lucas,” she said with a sigh, but he ignored that when suddenly he heard **_her_** voice from the upper part of the house.

**_“Don’t touch me!”_** Her voice was near hysterical, pained and rough, the syllables forced out. “Don’t, **_please,_** ” she was begging now, her voice quieter but no less painful. 

Her pained voice was like fire was poured through Luke’s veins, and he saw red. He growled at his mother, something he had never in his life done before because in that one moment she was the one thing between him and his mate. 

“Honey…” Caroline’s voice was trying to soothe but was starved out by Daphne’s screams. 

**_“DON’T TOUCH ME! IT HURTS!”_** Again Daphne now tipped into hysterical sobs and Luke’s mother was smart enough to step aside as nearly 300 pounds of muscle mass forced it’s way in the house, throwing himself up the stairs, ignoring anything and everything. 

“Luke, **_don’t_** …” his father got out as he watched Luke reach the upper landing but he didn’t try to reach for him. 

A good thing. Luke didn’t know how he would have reacted if his father would have tried to touch him right now. 

And so when another one of Daphne’s sobs broke through the door he pushed aside Matthew who was standing in the doorway and finally reached her bedroom. 

Caroline was kneeling on the floor, a few feet away from where his mate had curled herself up in the corner of her room, as tiny as she could make herself, rocking back and forth in pain and terror. 

And Luke had enough. 

He growled once, telling Caroline to back off before he reached Daphne and placing his bulk right in front of her, shielding her from anybody but him. 

Everybody would need to get around **_him_** to get **_her_**. 

Another growl, glaring at Caroline, Matthew and his father, all of them now in the doorway. 

“We’ll be downstairs,” his father said softly, shutting off Caroline as she tried to protest. “She needs her mate."

The door was closed, and Luke turned towards Daphne, still curled in the corner, blonde hair messily hanging around her face as her body was shaking with sobs. 

He nuzzled her face, pressed his snout against her skin, feeling the soft and hot skin, softly whining. 

She was upset, so upset. Her scent, the normally soft and sweet scent was drenched with pain and fear. 

There was no enemy that Luke needed to fight with. Nothing that he could to make it all better, other than doing his damnest to comfort her. Comfort her even when she continued to sob, her head buried in her arms. He kept rubbing his snout over her head, trying to do the wolfish equivalent of a hug. 

A part of his wanted to start licking her like a cub, wanted clean away the tears and drench her in his scent apart from the bitter scent of pain and fear she was currently feeling. 

She didn’t move. Until suddenly her hand was grasping the fur on the side of his head. 

***

The pain stopped. 

It receded fully, Daphne's senses suddenly scaling back until she felt…normal again. 

It was exhilarating and overwhelming and she couldn’t stop sobbing hysterically when finally, finally she wasn’t in pain anymore. 

She knew that Luke was there. She knew. The moment it had become quiet when his father had snapped “Luke, don’t…” and then suddenly she had been shielded from everything and anybody, that huge wolf putting itself between her and the outside world. 

Daphne wasn’t scared. She should be. The last time she had been near him he had been drenched in rabbit blood and had a carcass in his mouth. 

This time that same snout was pressing against her hair, a high whining sound escaping the wolf that made it sound more like a puppy and less like the small horse-sized wolf that it was. 

The tears and sobs slowly subsided not before the wolf continued to gently nose along her head and she reached out with a shaking hand to touch its fur. 

It was soft. 

She pulled back slowly, not wanting to upset him but he didn’t move. 

Finally, she looked up at him, the wolf suddenly going from standing to letting itself fall down in front of her, his huge head bedded on both of his paws as he watched her with big yellow eyes. 

She reached out again, touching his head, his tail thumping against the floor as she scratched him behind her ears. 

“You are really big,” she croaked out absentmindedly as she continued to touch him and he pressed against her hands, his tail continuing to thump against the floor. 

“I don’t…I don’t know what I am supposed to do,” she whispered. “I can’t…I always just wanted a normal life,” she admitted, tears again building into her eyes.

“You know…a house, a dog, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. Something normal, something boring,” Daphne admitted, letting herself slide down to the floor so that she was laying on her side facing him. Her body protested less that way. She kept scratching him behind his ears, his tail still wagging. “My own little _family_.” 

“I wasn’t…I can’t be what you want,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “Why would you want me? If you can change a human, why didn’t you just change Haley? She’s so much prettier than I am.” He reacted with a soft growl, and she pulled back her hand like she burned herself. 

He stopped growling and looked at her nearly apologetic as he pushed his snout in her direction again. 

She couldn’t help but shiver when he moved his bulk to be closer to her, heat seemingly permeating her. 

She wasn’t scared. Which was the most stupid thing she probably could do. He could kill her in seconds, she would be absolutely no match for his strength. 

Somehow Daphne knew he wouldn’t do that though. He was keeping her safe. 

“Will you stay?” She finally asked him when she could feel the bone-deep tiredness set in. “Please,” she nearly begged. He looked at her and then he nodded and for the first time, she actually felt like Luke was somewhere in that wolf. She looked at him, moving around until she felt a position that wouldn’t hurt her body even more than it already did and then finally laid her head again his shoulder. He pressed his snout against her hair for a moment, then laid his head down again, and Daphne buried her hand in his warm black fur and closed her eyes. 

She was safe. Safe. 

She finally slept.

***

She stayed curled up half on top of him and he was content to listen to her breathing and her heartbeat, even when her words played around in his head against and again. 

Not pretty enough for him? Daphne was beautiful. 

And he would rather never change back to his human form if that meant he should take Haley as his mate. Never again. He was not going to go down that route again. 

“Can I come in?” His father asked calmly from the door and he turned his head but didn’t lift it. 

“She’s sleeping?” His father asked and Luke just looked at him. That was pretty obvious. “Maybe you should have talked her into laying down in her bed. She is going to regret this.”

Nothing he could do about that now. And Daphne seemed pretty content for the time being. 

“Am I right with the thought that I probably won’t get you to go to school tomorrow?” His father asked and Luke just glared at him but Stephen held up his hands. “It’s fine, Luke. You never skip otherwise, and Thanksgiving is coming up later this week either way so you will only miss Tuesday and Wednesday.”

“Why don’t we get her mattress in that corner once she slept for a bit? And get her something to eat. She looks like she needs it.”

Luke inclined his head and his father went downstairs again. It took nearly two hours for Daphne to finally move again and even then she still stayed with her head against his body for a little while longer. 

Luke would give everything to have that every day if it meant that she was content.

“Daphne?” This time it was Caroline entering the room, carrying a tray with what looked like stew on it and a few slices of bread. “Are you hungry?”

“Feeling better, honey?” She asked her niece as Daphne finally looked over him and Luke could feel the anxiety bleed all over her scent. 

“Yes. I am sorry for screaming,” Daphne whispered apologetically and Luke wanted to shake his head and start telling her that none of this was her fault.

“Oh honey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Caroline soothed her. “Why don’t you sit down and eat some of that and then go to sleep in your bed?” 

“Luke can stay. If you want him to,” Caroline added as an afterthought and Luke was quite thankful for that. He didn’t want to leave her alone. 

“Will you stay? Please?” Daphne asked him, biting her lip and he just nodded calmly even when he wanted to make scream with joy. She wanted him close with her. 

She stood up slowly, keeping a hold on her desk. 

“Bathroom first,” Daphne mumbled and he watched her cross the room towards her bathroom before he also stood up, shaking himself out. 

“Don’t push her,” Caroline said quietly. “She has enough on her plate already without you pushing her into something she isn’t ready for.” 

He wanted to protest, but he knew that he could very quickly do that without even wanting to. Daphne would always try to please the people around herself so that they wouldn’t get angry. And that had the potential to end with something not so good. 

He sat down next to her bed as Caroline ordered the pillows and put the tray on the nightstand. Daphne came back after a few minutes, having changed, her hair now in one long messy braid over her shoulder and she crawled into bed, the tray on her lap. 

Luke watched her eat slowly, the smell quickly identifying that stew as rabbit stew. Probably that rabbit that he had killed for her. And somehow that pleased his wolf immensely. He was nearly purring with contentment at knowing that he had provided for his mate. 

“Want some?” Daphne asked him after she had eaten maybe a third of it, holding out some bread for him. 

Luke was far to amused by that but took it carefully from her, swallowing it down. There was no way any of them ever gave another werewolf kibble because that was kind of disrespectful but his mate had no werewolf education to speak of so he probably shouldn’t be surprised. 

Finally, she put it back on the night table, curling up on her side and let her arm hand over the edge of the bed to touch his fur. He laid down as well, happy enough to play her protector for the rest of the night. 

That’s where he stayed. 

She slept for nearly 12 hours, woke up in the morning and he went downstairs into the forest for a bit to hunt a rabbit to eat but when he came back upstairs, she was back in bed and took another nap, her hand back to being fisted in his fur. 

Luke could find nothing wrong with it. 

***

Daphne felt terrible about the whole situation but especially about making Luke sleep on her floor like that. It was the one thing that made sleep come easy to her. Anything else wasn’t helping as much as he did. 

He made her feel safe, he made it possible to relax and close her eyes. 

Still, …it wasn’t fair. Not if she still thought that…being his mate…it wasn’t something she could do. And she had no idea how to tell him that without ripping her own heart out her chest and feel like she would never feel safe again. 

So she just laid in her bed, caressing his head, again and again, his tail lazily thumping again the floor. 

There was a knock at the door and Daphne looked up surprised to find Kiana and Grace at the door. 

“Hey,” Grace greeted her with a bright smile and then stared at her brother. 

“Luke, go away for an hour or two,” she told him, opening the door and Daphne watched in amusement how he glared at his sister. “We have a hairbrush and nail polish. We are going to do a girls night and you aren’t invited.” Luke still glared. 

“If you don't want me to put braids in your tail, go downstairs,” Grace threatened and he turned towards Daphne looking at her questioningly. 

“It’s fine,” she told him softly and so he stood up, nuzzled her cheek and then trotted through the door but not before thumping his sister with his tail.

“And you should take a shower!” Kiana suggested. “I brought popcorn!”

Daphne took a shower, put on another pair of pyjamas and then sat down on the edge to let Grace do her nails and Kiana braid her hair. 

Daphne had never in her life done that before. She never had a girls night or had watched a movie and had popcorn and then talked with a girl her own age about which boy was cute and who wasn’t. 

“Is this some kind of intervention?” She finally asked Grace, because she couldn#t imagine another reason why they would show up at her house and be happy to braid her hair and paint her nails. 

“Maybe a bit,” Kiana admitted with a laugh, continuing to brush her hair. 

“Which colour do you want?” Grace asked her, holding out some nail polish bottles. 

“Red, please,” Daphne said after a short moment, perusing the options. It was a bright cherry red, all glittery. 

“Actually it’s more us offering you answers to any questions you may have. Whatever you want to know. We promise we won’t judge. Too badly,” Grace told her, winking at her and Daphne couldn’t help but giggle at that. 

“Thank you,” she sighed. She had questions. Lot’s of questions. And no idea where to start.“Why is he so sure that I am his mate? Can he be wrong?” She asked hesitantly and Grace looked at her. 

“Your smell. You are the one thing in the whole world that smells the absolute best to him. And no…he isn’t wrong,” Grace told her honestly.“You are **_it_** for him.”

“Why would he even want me? Half of the girls in school are waiting for him to notice them,” Daphne snorted and Kiana sighed. 

“First…the reason why a lot of these girls are interested in him is his popularity. Luke is a nice guy. They know that. He treats every girl respectfully, he isn’t a player…he never cheated on any of them or lied to them. All of them knew exactly what they were getting themselves into,” Kiana started, tugging at Daphne’s hair and she leaned her head back as Kiana started braiding her hair. “He’s the captain of the football team, he’s one of the best students in the year…he is pretty much perfect. Of course, we all know he _isn’t_ but they don’t care about that,” Kiana joked. “It’s the status of being his girlfriend. And it’s also the knowledge of what family he comes from.” 

“We Schuylers have lived here for around 200 years. We originally came from the Netherlands over to New York and then settled in Maine. We always had money, but my great grandfather started a construction company…by now it’s the biggest in the state. We are worth a lot of money,” Grace explained matter of factly. She wasn’t showing off, she was just telling Daphne the facts. “Luke is set to take it over one day. We both have trust funds and even when our parents expect us to do something with our lives…we actually wouldn’t need to do **_anything_**. We could live from just our trust funds for the rest of our lives without even touching any of the family money.”

…a part of Daphne wanted to ask how much money they were talking about but she didn’t. She didn’t want anybody to think that she was out for money. It was the furthest thing from the truth. 

“I didn’t know that,” she said instead. 

“We don’t talk about it that often. But it’s a fact,” Kiana said with a shrug, tying off the first braid. 

“That’s the explanation for the humans,” Grace said softly. “For the other wolves…It’s money…but it’s also power. The Schuyler encompasses New Brunswick, Main, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, down to New York City where it borders to the Randall Pack.” 

That seemed… a lot. Randall…Daphne knew the name from somewhere…

“Randall…does Leda Randall belong to that pack?” She asked surprised. Was she a werewolf as well?

Grace nodded.“She’s the sister of their Alpha, Cyril Randall.”

“We are one of the 5 biggest packs in the United States. And Luke is set to be the Alpha of all of that one day,” Kiana continued. “Being his mate…that is a very…important and **_influential_** position. And every werewolf **_knows_** that.”

“His mate will have an untold amount of influence over him and the decision he makes for his pack… a lot of smaller packs threw their daughters and granddaughters at him over the years, desperately hoping that one of them would be his mate,” Grace threw in. “None of them were ever anything Luke was interested in though.”

How many had there been? Dozens? Hundreds? All of them having grown up in this culture that seemed utterly foreign and old-fashioned to Daphne. And now Luke had decided that she was the one? 

It couldn’t be.”

“And to your other questions…why shouldn’t he want you?” Kiana asked her with a shrug, continuing braiding her hair.

“Maybe because he could have somebody who actually knows what she is doing? I know nothing about werewolves!” Daphne exclaimed and Grace just sighed.

“We can teach you.” She told Daphne amused. “What do you want to know?”

She had hundreds of questions. But there was one…one that she cared about a lot more than any other. 

“Why rabbits?” She asked which made Grace chuckled amused.

“It’s a courting gesture. He’s showing you that he can provide for you and any future cubs.” 

Cubs. **_CUBS?!_**

“I can’t have a baby! Not now!” Daphne brought out. She was so not ready for that. 

“Luke knows that,” Grace soothed her with a laugh. “His wolf doesn’t, but it’s nothing you need to worry about. Our species tends to find love early and not let go. Luke’s not going to pressure you to have a child with him right now just because his wolf thinks that would be a great idea.”

“Why does his wolf want to…” Daphne brought out unable to name. What did the wolf want? Impregnate her or something?

“Breed you?” Kiana supplied. 

“You are talking like it’s…a separated personality from him,” Daphne threw in. Was there…Was it like a split personality?

“It’s an instinctual entity in him. They are two sides of the same coin. It’s not a separate entity…it’s a part of him. But it’s also at war with his human personality at times,” Grace explained. “The wolf…the wolf wants you as his mate. He wants to bite you, claim you and breed you.” 

At Daphne’s shocked look, she just shrugged. “It’s a biological imperative. Take care that the wolf pack continues, that another alpha is born.”

Right. Daphne wasn’t…onboard with that. The rational part of her brain was shaking her head at it all and calling it terrible oldfashioned. And another part…that part that only felt safe if Luke was near her that thought that maybe…maybe all of that didn’t sound so bad. 

“If you say **_bite me_** , you don’t mean biting me like he already did, right?” Daphne asked curiously but Grace just snorted. 

“No,” she leaned her head to the left, baring her neck, gently lifting her short hair from her golden skin there and suddenly Daphne saw the imprints of teeth there. 

“You see that?” Grace asked her. 

“Who bit you?” Daphne blurted out.

“Ollie did,” Grace said amused. “It’s a **_mating_** bite. They are always done on the right side of your neck. The bite is the completing of the mating bond.” 

“And the claiming thing…well, it’s sex,” Kiana threw in. Somehow that didn’t even surprise Daphne anymore, who still couldn’t help but blush bright red at that. 

That wasn’t anything she was comfortable with right now. She never had a boyfriend.And throwing herself right into a paranormal relationship were biting each other was apparently the norm…

“There is also…knotting involved,” Kiana continued like it was completely normal and Daphne started coughing when she swallowed her own spit. 

“Are you serious?” She brought out. Oh god. 

The whole werewolf thing was apparently really similar to real-life wolves. Still, Daphne couldn’t help but shudder when she thought about how that must…hurt. 

“It doesn’t hurt,” Grace said like she had read her mind. “None of it hurts. Not if you do it **_willingly_**.” 

That was at least slightly calming. Great. Knots. Anything else?

“Could a mating bond be forced then?” Daphne suddenly asked, remember Grace last sentence. 

“Kinda. You could be bitten by somebody but the connection wouldn’t “stick” if you are unwilling. You could reject the werewolf that bit you and the connection would fade away or…well it can rot away,” Kiana explained. 

“Rot,” Daphne repeated. That didn’t sound good. 

“Bond rot is the **_worst_** thing that can happen to a werewolf. Well, apart from becoming dormant or rabid. Bond Rot can force you dormant though,” Grace explained softly, shuddering at even the thought. “Dormant means it’s impossible to take on your wolf form again. Your senses cripple to a level even below the average human.”

“Mating doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. Mating Bonds can be destroyed by loss of love, bad communications…cheating. But it’s a pretty good indicator…Bond Rots don’t happen often at all... We are **_very_** family-oriented at the core,” Grace told her. 

Even when Mating didn’t guarantee her a happy ending…it was still more security than Daphne ever had before, wasn’t it?

“So about Luke…you are gonna make him wait any longer?” Kiana asked her suddenly, tying off the other braid and Daphne stared at her hands, nails now bright red and glittery, courtesy of Grace. 

“Kiana,” Grace said warningly.

“I just mean…It’s doesn’t really sound fair to him,” Kiana defended himself. 

“It’s not,” Daphne agreed. It wasn’t fair at all. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing. 

“Well, do you find him attractive?” Kiana asked and Daphne looked up startled. 

“Yes, but…” she admitted softly but was interrupted by Kiana again. 

“Do you like him?”

“Yes, but…”

“Think you could be happy as his girlfriend?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then I don’t see a problem,” Kiana said easily and Daphne would have liked to throttle her. It wasn’t that easy. 

“I am not good enough for him,” she whispered. She wasn’t…She wasn’t what he needed. 

“Because you think you aren’t pretty enough?” Kiana snorted. “Your self-esteem is terrible.”

That was something that Daphne was actually aware of. She was a notoriously shy person that hated being the centre of attention. 

“Because he could get somebody better suited,” Daphne finally said. Yeah, she also was far from pretty enough but that was the smallest problem. His whole world was a foreign concept to her. 

“And still he wants you,” Kiana said softly. “He throws off enough pheromones that every other unmated werewolf had started giving you a wide berth because none of them want to provoke Luke. He finds you very pretty, I promise you that,” Kiana snorted amused.

“Luke and I…we are twins. But we are also littermates. We have a special bond. I can feel if he is upset if he’s… _lonely_.And he has never been happier since he met you, Daphne,” Grace told her seriously. “He **_adores_** you.” 

“And I think he could do far worse than you,” Grace tagged on at the end, which amused Daphne. It was a tacit approval that Daphne was quite thankful for. 

“Thanks,” she said softly. 

“Of course,” Grace said with a smile, hugging her. “Are you going to give my idiot of a brother a chance then?”

Daphne nodded. She was. She would give him a chance. She could at least try. 

She found him a bit later, sitting on the porch together with Ollie, who took one look at her and then happily went as far away from them as he could. 

Daphne was quite thankful for that. Nobody needed to hear herself embarrass herself even more. 

Luke was in his human form now, wearing jeans and a thick hoodie, sitting on the bench, staring out over the beach and she sat down next to him. 

“Hey,” she greeted him, her voice shaking and he tipped his head back to see her, smiling at her. That same bright smile that always made her heart beat faster and made it even more difficult to concentrate. 

“Hey,” he gave back gently. “Are you feeling…better?” Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who was nervous. 

“I am. No pain anymore…and I feel like I have slept enough for the first time in ages,” Daphne admitted softly. “Thank you for staying. You made…it makes me feel safe,” she brought out, feeling even more awkward as she looked at him through her lashes. “I am sorry that you had to sleep on the floor,” she blurted out but he just seemed amused at that. 

“I would have slept in the forest otherwise,” Luke told her calmly, offering her his hand and she took it. Hers was half his size, her skin so much paler than the golden glow that both him and Grace seemed to have. He looked at the bright red nails with some amusement, a smile quirking around his full lips. 

“Grace did your nails?” He asked her and she nodded. 

“She did,” Daphne answered. “We…talked,” she brought out. 

“I am not…I still think you could do better than me,” Daphne started, her hands clenching in his and he looked at her, hazel eyes soft, his other hand now also enveloping hers as he shook his head softly. 

“I disagree,” Luke said calmly, throwing her off guard for a moment but she continued regardless. 

“But if oyu…want to…try…whatever this is…” Daphne stuttered, feeling like an absolute idiot. “I…I would like that. I can be your…girlfriend?” She brought out questioningly, and he looked at her, an incredible happy smile appearing on his face. 

“I can work with that,” He agreed, reaching out to envelope her in a hug. He was warm and safe and Daphne burrowed against him. 

“Thank you, Daphne,” he whispered against her hair, gratitude so very obvious in his voice.Her breathing hitched when he brushed his lips over her cheek, pressing a kiss there.

“We’ll do it at your pace. Whatever you are comfortable with,” he promised her gently. “I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly. She could do that. She could. She buried her hands in the soft fabric of his hoodie and buried her face against him. 

“Go to bed…I’ll come up in a bit,” he finally said, gently detaching his hands from him and she did just that. 

Once she was safely curled up on her bed, the big black wolf slipped in through the door, pushing it closed and then laid down right next to her bed. 

She reached over the edge of her bed, to pet his fur, feeling the strength of the muscles beneath it. 

“I’ll do my best to be what you need,” Daphne breathed out when Luke had fallen asleep on the floor, gently touching his fur. 

She would try to be what he needed her to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote 5k in a day?! I think that won't ever happen again.


	18. Chapter 14

_The things that we love tell us what we are._

** _Thomas Aquinas_ **

“It’s healing just as it should be,” her uncle told her while he was prodding her ribs and Daphne did her best to ignore the uncomfortable twinge she felt at that. 

Most of the wounds were closed now, bruises slowly fading from blue and purple to a greenish tint. It didn’t hurt as much as it once had anymore, something that Daphne was quite happy about. 

“As long as you keep eating and rest, there shouldn’t be any scars left,” Matthew continued. 

Even when there would be scars left, Daphne would just add them to the collection of scars she already had. She knew that her back was covered in a criss-cross of scars, just as her thighs were…it wasn’t pretty. Not pretty at all, but she couldn’t change it. 

So she just didn’t wear tank tops or shorts and kept them covered. 

“Turn around please,” Matthew said with a sigh, and she did as he asked, letting him push up the shirt she wore and take a look at the wounds on her back.

She couldn’t help but flinch at his prodding and he stopped for a moment before he continued. 

“All finished,” Matthew finally said, and she sat up, opening her mouth to thank him, as she caught the look on his face. 

He looked thunderous. 

And Daphne couldn’t help but wonder if that was her fault. 

“The scars on your back are old,” he said finally and she could just nod, looking back down to her hands that were clenched in her lap. Right at that moment, she would have given everything to have Luke near her. He somehow managed to make all of this better. 

“Did your…Did Michelle…did she ever hurt you, Daphne?” Caroline asked softly, sitting down next to her.

No. No, they couldn’t…she couldn’t…

“It’s not your fault, none of this is,” Caroline continued, her voice gentle. “I just…honey, did she hurt you?”

“It’s…I…” Daphne couldn’t bring out the words, her mouth dry, burying her face in her hands. “S _ometimes,”_ she finally brought out. 

“How often, Daphne?” Matthew asked her quietly, gently pulling her hands away from her face and Daphne just wanted to go hide in a corner and not come out again. 

They would know how much of a terrible daughter she had been. 

“It wasn’t…only if I tried to take…” Daphne brought out, still fighting against the tears that wanted to spill over, against the sobs that wanted to come out, when she remembered. When she remembered every single miserable minute she had because it had always been a choice between not being in pain or having enough money to pay for food. 

She forcibly needed to take a deep breath to calm herself to bring the next words over her lips. But once she did…once she did she felt like she couldn’t stop again. Not really. 

She broke over a decade of silence with her words as they tumbled over her lips, punctuated with a sob, her voice pleading for understanding, for acceptance, for love. 

“If I tried to take the alcohol form her or if I…interrupted her and…and one of her boyfriend.…or if I wasn’t quiet enough…if I was too quiet…if I…if I didn’t give her all the money I made, but if I gave it all to her, then we couldn’t have paid for rent because she would spend it all in a few days…”

“Oh honey,” Caroline soothed, enveloping her in a hug and letting her cry against her shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

But it was. All of this was Daphne’s fault. All of this was her fault. Her mother was dead because of her because Daphne hadn’t tried to help her in any way. 

“I should have done something,” she brought out. “I was relieved when she died. Who is **_relieved_** when their own mother dies? What kind of human does that make me?” 

She cried against Caroline’s shoulder, even when her aunt continued to gently pet her hair and promised her that it wasn’t Daphne’s fault. 

“Daphne,” her uncle whispered, his hand joining her aunt’s on the back of her head, wiping away her tears from her cheeks. “She **_abused_** you. She hit you with a belt. She put out her cigarettes on your thighs,” his voice trembled but he continued, “Being relieved that she isn’t able to hurt you any longer…that doesn’t make you a **_bad_** person.”

It didn’t?

“It _doesn’t,_ ” Matthew repeated, meeting her gaze calmly. “It doesn’t. Not at all. I promise it doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“Why didn’t you come to us? Why didn’t you tell us?” He asked her softly. “You ran around with infected wounds on your back for so long. Why didn’t you just tell us?”

“I couldn’t,” Daphne whispered. “I couldn’t. If I did, she would find out. And that was even worse.” 

She shuddered at the memory of that, her whole body shaking, pressing her head against the crook of Caroline’s neck when she remembered. She didn’t want to remember anymore. 

“Shhhh, honey,” Caroline shushed her softly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “She isn’t here anymore. She can’t hurt you anymore.” 

She wasn’t. Michelle was dead. She would never lay a finger onto Daphne again. And that knowledge made breathing easier. 

“Nobody is ever going to hurt you anymore,” Matthew promised softly. “We are going to take care of that.”

There was so much palpable relief gripping her at that promise that it was nearly making it impossible to breathe. She was safe. Safe. 

It was as foreign and relieving. 

“Was she…was she a werewolf?” Daphne finally brought out, when the tears had dried up and she was still leaning again Caroline’s shoulder, just staring at the wall. 

“Michelle?” Caroline asked softly. “She was. We were both born werewolves…I changed the first time with less than a year, she was around 3 years old…” 

“We are quite certain that she has been dormant for a few years though,” Matthew explained with a sigh. “Child abuse…It happens so very rarely for werewolves. Cubs…children they are precious. They are the future of the wolf pack…we are **_very_** family-oriented. Of course, there are outliers…but it happens **_a lot_** if it’s a dormant werewolf…they lose their empathy.”

Daphne nodded at that, knowing the truth of that. The pack structure helped with the family orientation. There would always be somebody there to watch small children, making it possible for the member to marry young and have children just as young. 

“Substance abuse is also very prevalent in dormant werewolves,” Matthew finally added. Another thing that Daphne could tick off the list.Alcohol and drug addiction had both been something her mother had lived with for years. 

But still…

“Is it my fault that she went dormant?” Daphne whispered but Matthew shook his head. “Was it something that I did?”

“No, Daphne,” her uncle told her. “It wasn’t your fault. There are a lot of things that can force dormancy…substance abuse is one of that. While we have a much higher alcohol tolerance, even we can’t sustain abuse for an extended period without…hurting ourselves.”

“So I am a half-werewolf?” She asked after a moment, filing that information away.

Caroline chuckled softly at that. “While we don’t really call it that, yes, you already had some werewolf genetics in you even before Luke bit you. I can’t tell you what your father was or is. Michelle never answered any questions about him.”

“It probably was one of her drug dealers,” Daphne whispered. To be honest she had no idea if she ever wanted to find out who her father was. That was a secret she could gladly live without ever finding out. 

“…you don’t know that, honey,” Caroline said softly but Daphne just shrugged.

“She never wanted me. She told me that often enough,” she whispered. Often enough. 

Daphne had never been anywhere where she was wanted. 

“We want you here,” Caroline whispered. “We want you, Honey. And I am pretty sure that Luke wants you too.”

***

The only reason he had gone home was that Matthew had more or less thrown him out of the house. Well, it hadn’t been said in so many words but Luke could easily read between the lines and so he had gone away before Matthew needed to say it. 

Caroline and Matthew were already trying to be supportive of their…budding relationship so Luke was not going to make it any more difficult for them. And really…he knew what they wanted to ask Daphne about and that was not something he thought he could bear to hear without putting his hand through a wall. And he _somehow_ did not think that Caroline was going to appreciate it when he destroyed her drywall. 

So he ran home, got changed and now was on the search for food, his father’s voice stopped him as he wanted to enter the kitchen. 

“You are worried,” his father said softly and Luke stopped in his tracks, keeping still for a moment.

“Yes,” his mother answered with a sigh. About what?

“Why?” His father questioned. “You know that our kind…we don’t tend to have PTSD as much.” Was this about Daphne?

“I know that,” his mother snorted softly.“Luke’s…view of her is through rose coloured glasses, Stephen.” 

Well, …she wasn’t wrong about that. Luke was aware of it though. He wasn’t blind about Daphne’s failures but they seemed to be so small in contrast to how perfect the rest of her was. 

“That girl has the power to absolutely destroy him with uttering three words,” his mother whispered. 

“…and you have the exact same power, Cecilia,” his father said drily. “She’s his mate. It’s gonna work out.”

“You think so?” His mother questioned doubtfully and Luke couldn’t help but feel at least slightly hurt by that. He knew that his parents only wanted the best for him but still…Daphne was his mate. Daphne was his future if everything happened as it should. 

He could hear his father sigh softly. “Daphne Emerson was abused by her only parent since she could think. We know about the physical abuse, we saw the evidence of it. The emotional abuse? We will never know the full extent of that. Not without her telling us. But everything I have seen of her yet, makes her seem shy and quiet and anxious. She’s too scared to try and manipulate anybody, Cecilia. Least of all Luke. I think that she will do everything in her power to please Luke and that we should be more worried about him accidentally pushing her into a relationship too fast. I think that Luke wished for a mate for years. And I think that the only thing that girl wants is a family,” his father said quietly. 

“She can have that,” his mother finally agreed after a moment. 

Good. Daphne would have a family. Daphne would have pack surround her…she was his mate after all. And she needed it. She needed that far more than she even needed Luke at the moment. 

He stepped towards the kitchen, not trying to quiet his steps this time and opened the door,

“Luke! When did you come back?” His mother asked him surprised as she saw him enter the kitchen, hugging him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

“This morning. Caroline and Matthew wanted to talk with Daphne…I am pretty sure it was about…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence to make his parents understand. 

“How is she doing?” His father asked gently and Luke shrugged. To be honest…he had no idea. She seemed well enough most of the time and then she looked at him so fearful that he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t making everything worse for her.

“She’s sleeping…She’s tired most of the time, but no nightmares as long as I am there.” Luke was inadvertently pleased by that.“She said yes,” he admitted, unable to keep the smile from his face at that. 

“We heard,” his father said amused. “Ollie told us.”

“This is gonna take some time, Luke,” his mother warned him gently. “She’s going to be…skittish for a little while longer.”

“I know,” he answered. “I can be _patient_.” For Daphne, he could be everything. 

“I know you can be,” his mother laughed. 

“I’ll head back there in a few minutes…maybe I can get her to leave the house for once,” Luke sighed softly. 

He did exactly that, showing up around an hour later and finding her in the living room, curled up on the couch. She looked up surprised at seeing him but then she was smiling at him and as he sat down next to her, she hesitantly slipped nearer to him, until her head rested against his shoulder. 

“Shouldn’t…Shouldn’t you be at school?” She asked him softly.

“Not right now,” he answered. Not after that episode the day before. He wasn’t going to leave her alone for longer than a few hours until he felt like she had at least settled somewhat into her new circumstances. 

“You managed to infect me with the flu as well…it’s a wonder that Oliver is still standing,” he told her with a grin, allowing himself to press his lips against her hair to which she reacted with a tiny little hitch of her breath and he laid his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. 

They fit together perfectly, her small body curled up against him like that and he could feel himself relax when her smell began to penetrate his senses so completely. There was no fear in her scent at that moment, her breathing was deep and calm and for a moment she seemed truly content. 

“Is that the story?” She asked him, sounding a bit amused.

“The humans believe it. And the rest…well, they know the real story,” Luke answered softly. 

They were quiet for a moment, just soaking up each other’s company. He could hear Caroline cooking in the kitchen, the smell of vegetables and meat hanging in the air. 

“Caroline is cooking up a storm,” Daphne whispered, apparently also having smelled the food. 

“Thanksgiving is coming up. She and my mother always tag team the dinner,” Luke explained absentmindedly. 

“What do you think about a walk?” He finally suggested and she moved away from him, looking at him and biting her lip. 

“At the beach?” She asked him, her voice shaking and he nodded. He wasn’t going to take her in the forest…not yet. Not right now. She would need to get over the fear of that, but for right now he just wanted to take her out and take a slow walk around the beach with his mate by his side. 

***

She ended up needing to wear one of Caroline’s jacket’s because hers was drenched with blood and ruined…Caroline had told her they would order a new one online that should be there in a few days and that made Daphne feel terrible once again. 

And it also reminded her starkly of what had happened. 

Luke offered his hand as they stepped outside and she took it, letting his big hand cradle her smaller one and letting him make her feel at least slightly safer. She let him tuck her against his side while they were walking, his big presence calming and finally she could start to enjoy this. 

She had…a boyfriend to take a walk with now…

It wasn’t…It wasn’t anything that Daphne ever thought she would actually have. 

No boy had ever been willing to give her the time of the day. She had always been the odd one out, the poor girl that wore clothes that didn’t fit her and spend most of her time doodling onto her papers…

It had changed now. All of it had changed. Her whole life had been thrown over and transformed and while all of it was so much, so scary…it was also so good. 

There was no fear anymore what she could make herself for dinner that day, no fear anymore that her mother would have a go at her with another bottle of whiskey…she had her own room now, she had watercolours and paintbrushes and…and she had Luke. 

Luke, who was happily holding her hand while the walked along the shoreline, comfortable silence between the two of them as Daphne ordered her thoughts. 

Werewolves were real. That was still something she couldn’t actually believe. Not really. Of course, she had seen Luke’s wolf, the big black wolf that slept in front of her bed and let him scratch her behind his ears and she had seen Stephen Schuyler in a partial shift which had been terrifying, to be honest. 

But all of that…all of that was fading when she thought about why she even knew about werewolves. Why she was told, why that had happened. 

She couldn’t remember. Not really. Matthew hadn’t been able to tell her if she ever would be able to remember what Kyle Wilder had done to her, and Daphne wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. Not really. The pain had been enough to last a lifetime. 

The pain was her clearest memory of everything that had happened. The feeling of fire and ice, of prickling and stabbing, of paralysing fear and the try to fight…

But alone the thought of facing him again…that made the bile rise in her throat and made her want to go back to her bedroom and hide in a corner, preferably with Wolf!Luke curled around her. (These startling white teeth the black wolf had would probably be able to take a bite out of Kyle, _right_?)

“Daphne, is something wrong?” He asked her gently and she stopped, staring out over the ocean, her hands starting to shake when she imagined needing to see him again. 

“I don’t remember what happened. Not…not really. It’s just snapshots in my mind but I can’t…I am scared of seeing him again,” she admitted, her voice breaking and she could feel Luke’s hand tighten around hers for a moment, before he stepped in front of her, cradling her face in his hands. 

“You won’t ever need to see him again. Dad took care of it,” Luke whispered. “He won’t hurt you anymore. Not ever. ”

Wait what? She stared at him, and he looked at her gently, leaning forward to press his lips against her forehead. 

She could smell him at that moment, a scent like a forest, fresh and wild and still, warm and safe. Luke was safe. 

That was the one thing she was certain of. 

“He won’t ever set a foot in our territory again. Not if he doesn’t want to regret it. A lot,” Luke promised her. 

“You…can’t…He’s going to hurt you!” She blurted out and he looked at her surprised. 

“Sweetheart…” he said gently. 

“He can’t hurt you!” she knew she was nearly hysterically, but she couldn’t help it. Not Luke. He couldn’t be hurt because of her.

***

He had expected a lot, but not his mate nearly becoming hysterical at the idea of him getting hurt. He still held her face in his hands, while tears were starting to threaten to fall over her cheeks.

“He’s not going to hurt me, Daphne. I am a werewolf, he’s a human…He’s simply no match for me or any of our species,” he told her, hoping that that would calm her, but she still stared at him with big lilac eyes, her lower lip trembling. 

No, come on, sweetheart, don’t cry. He couldn’t deal with her crying. 

“If he presents himself as a threat to you again…then I will take care of it,” he promised, brushing his thumb over her cheek. “There is no better reason than your safety, Daphne.” He whispered and the first tear tracked over her cheek. And then she threw herself at his chest, arms clenching around him as she sobbed against his chest while he held her as tightly as he dared. 

“You are safe, sweetheart,” he promised softly. “Please stop crying?” He asked gently, wiping away the tears from her cheek and she looked at him, a tearful smile on her face. 

“Nobody is going to hurt you or me, I promise. And you are a werewolf now…You could kick the hell out of any human you want now,”Luke told her and she snorted. She didn’t believe him at all.

“Did you break anything yet?” He asked her amused but she just shook her head. 

“Does that happen usually?” She asked him, biting her lip again, something that by now told him that she was feeling scared and anxious and he finally let go of her only to pick up a stone from the beach and hand it to her. 

She stared at it not understanding what he wanted from her. 

“Throw it,” he told her calmly, gently turning her towards the ocean. 

She looked at him, the face expression telling that she was only amusing him and then threw it with as much strength as she could muster. 

Luke watched the stone fly over the ocean, easily a hundred feet, his eyes tracking it effortlessly and then a breathless laugh came from her. 

Before he could stop her, Daphne had grabbed another stone, whirling it in the ocean as hard as she could, seemingly so very pleased with herself. 

He let her play with the stones for a little while longer, thinking that this was actually quite good for her. She could get used to her new strength, her new abilities, without break-in anything or hurting anybody. 

A few minutes later, she finally tired of her game, turning towards him, blond hair windswept and messy and her cheeks bright red but a smile on her face. 

He hated to disturb her. 

“How are your senses?” He asked her matter-of-factly, wondering if they were spiking again, or if they had managed to get to a point where she had gotten used to them. 

She looked at him surprised and then shrugged. 

“Normal…I…I just push it away,” she admitted. Great. 

That was exactly what she couldn’t keep doing. 

“…You can’t always keep doing that,” Luke told her gently. “Your wolf won’t like that.”

She looked away from him then, her scent becoming bitter with fear again. 

“I…I don’t…I don’t…don’t make me change!” It burst out of her and he stared at her surprised. 

“Sweetheart…sweetheart, look at me,”he reached out for her, trying to soothe her with his voice and his presence, gently enveloping her in his arms. 

“ ** _Nobody_** but can force you to shift against your will. **_Nobody,_** ” he told her gently. It couldn’t happen. 

The most they could do was to try and touch the wolf, something he would probably need to do to actually pull her far enough to the surface that the first shift could happen. But he couldn’t force that. Nor did he want to. 

“You’ll need to meet her one day,” he said instead, keeping his voice soft. She needed to meet her wolf and he was looking forward to that. So much. He wanted to see her in her wolf form. That would be a sight to behold. 

“I…I can feel her in my chest. It’s heat and wilderness and…and so much strength,” Daphne whispered, fear bleeding into her voice and he held her tighter. Her starting to fear the wolf within her…that was the worst car scenario. 

“I don’t think I could fight her if she wanted to surface,” Daphne admitted finally. 

“She won’t do that. She’s still you. Another part of you but still you. She’s _instinctual_. As long as you feel safe, as long as you have food and sleep and everything you need…she won’t try to take over,” Luke tried to calm her but Daphne just shook her head. 

“Do you never want to take on your form?” He asked her, unable not to. Did she never want to have that with him? Never want to feel how it would be to have him at her side, running through the forest. 

She shrugged. Well, that wasn’t a no…

“I don’t even know how that works…and I don’t want to hurt anybody,” Daphne whispered.

“We don’t lose our minds when we shift. We are even still in control most of the time,” Luke explained. 

Daphne snorted in amusement.

“Apart from that time your wolf decided to get me something to eat, right?” She told him, a tiny smile on her face and he sighed. 

“I thought letting him take over would make him scale his possessiveness back but he just got a bit…overzealous,” Luke finally said carefully.

“Kiana said it was a Courting Gesture,” Daphne said hesitantly and he nodded. 

“It was for him. He was quite happy when you actually ate the stew Caroline cooked for you.”

***

Thursday came and with that Thanksgiving. 

Shortly after breakfast, Caroline and Matthew herded Daphne and Oliver in the car to drive over to the Schuyler’s, because Caroline and Luke’s mother had decided that they needed 6 hours for cooking before dinner. 

Still, Daphne didn’t protest, happily climbing in the backseat if that meant that she would get to see Luke again. 

He still slept next to her bed on the floor, the one thing that made her feel safe and Daphne was thankful for that even when that also made her feel terrible. 

The Schuyler’s were their nearest neighbours on the left side but Daphne had actually never been to their house once. 

Luke and Grace had always come over to their house, and Daphne had never even thought about it too much. That was until she got her first glimpse at the Schuyler’s…

Daphne wasn’t even sure if she should call it a house. 

They drove up to a wrought iron gate. Said wrought iron gate was probably 6 feet tall, all swirly and beautiful with spikes at the top. 

It opened without anybody doing something, which made it even creepier. 

And then…then Daphne had her first glance at the _house_.

It was startling white, standing in front of the forest. Two stories, greek revival style, with huge columns in the front, a gravel driveway leading towards it. 

And Daphne could just stare. 

This wasn’t what she had expected…at all. Somehow she had believed Luke to live in something…normal. A normal suburban family home and not this…huge mansion that looked like a mix between The White House and Buckingham Palace. 

Fine maybe it was a bit smaller than that, but it was still **_huge_**. 

“Do they live here?” Daphne asked Oliver, not really believing it. 

“Nah, they live in a cave around the back,” her cousin answered drily and she stared at him. “Of course, they live here, Daphne. It has been in the family for generations.”

Great. 

The car stopped and Oliver jumped out only to have Grace throw herself at him and kiss him. Daphne opened her own door, jumping out only to nearly fall down hadn’t Luke grasped her arm. 

“Careful,” he told her with a smile. “Falling into the gravel isn’t nice.”

“Hey,” she greeted him lightly breathless, reaching out to hug him quickly and then just as quickly stepping back to help Caroline drag all the food she made inside. 

The inside was just as breathtaking as the outside had been and Daphne did her best not to stare like an absolute idiot at the huge front door that led to the foyer. There were dark wood floors or marble everywhere, the walls trimmed with white but covered in old wallpaper that must have been damask or something equally as expensive. 

And Daphne felt completely and utterly out of place. 

It wasn’t helped by the fact that Thanksgiving with the Schuylers meant that the whole extended family was there as well, which made it nearly twenty people. 

There were Luke’s parents, Luke and Grace, Caroline, Matthew, Oliver and Daphne, Kiana, her parents, Talia and Kiana’s other 4 siblings as well her parents and also Luke’s other uncle and his husband.

It was a loud and loving family that adored each other and Daphne went to hide in the kitchen with Caroline and Cecilia, peeling potatoes because she couldn’t deal with that right now. 

Not like this. 

So she peeled potatoes and chopped and peeled everything that Caroline or Cecilia put in front of her, busying herself with that. Sometimes she could hear the laughter from the den or living room or saw some of the kids run around outside, where a game of catch had started. 

“Why don’t you go play outside as well? You don’t need to help, I am sure that could be more fun for you,” Cecilia told her with a smile but Daphne shook her head. 

“It doesn’t bother me,” she answered with a smile, going back to peeling and coring the apples now. 

“Apparently there would be apple pie for dessert. And Cherry Tart. And around 3 other pies that Daphne wondered if that wouldn’t be too much even for all the werewolves around the dining table. 

She listened with half an ear while Cecilia and Caroline were sharing the newest town gossip, three quarters about it about people that Daphne had never even heard from. 

Everybody knew everybody else in Fairbury. 

Daphne could have had that if she had been raised in this small town and not in the vastness of New York City. She could have had the warmth of Family Thanksgivings and…

She needed to blink back the tears at that, at the realisation of all the things she had never had experienced because of her mother. 

“Coming to help, Lucas?” Cecilia asked amused and Daphne looked up from her last apple as she finished cutting it in the cubes that Caroline had wanted it to be. 

“After the catastrophe that was Christmas last year?” Luke answered with a snort, resulting in his mother laughing amused. 

“No, I thought I would steal Daphne away,”

“Good, take her outside, I am sure she has something better today than to listen to us old ladies gossiping,” Caroline said amused, and Daphne laughed as she washed her hands and then handed the apples over to Caroline. 

She went over to Luke, who slipped his hand in hers and then dragged her to the living room, pulling her down on the couch with him, so that they could watch Kiana’s siblings' roughhouse outside, being joined by Grace and Oliver. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked her softly and she leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. She just wanted to soak up his presence, wanted to spend the rest of her life curled up with him like this. 

“I…I like this,” she admitted softly. “I really like this.”

They stayed like this for a little while but then Luke was stolen away by one of Kiana’s brothers to come to play some football, and Daphne was left amusing Talia with drawing her Buttercup the dragon eating buttercups until they helped set the table for dinner. 

Daphne ended up sandwiched between Luke and Caroline and while Stephen toasted about all the things to be thankful for this year, including new members added to the family…Daphne was left being thankful for having a family for the first time in her life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see ;) University has started back up again and is kicking my ass, so we'll see how much writing I'll get done...


	19. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see...

_Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you._

** _Jean-Paul Satre_ **

“You know, only because you said yes to trying and being his mate, it doesn’t mean that Luke has the right to…push you into anything you aren’t ready for.”

Oliver’s words pulled Daphne out of her worries for that first school day. She hadn’t slept more than a few hours that night, her hand never straying from Luke’s fur. 

Still, that hadn’t kept her from repeatedly waking herself up with a wildly beating heart and fear gripping her. 

She hated this. She hated that she was using Luke as some kind of crutch that magically made everything better. It was ridiculous…and she couldn’t help herself to want him around her as long and as often as she somehow could manage. 

But still…

“What do you mean, Ollie?” Daphne asked her cousin and he sighed, staring out of the windshield while they were stuck behind some grey pickup truck. 

“Wolves tend to move… _fast_ after the initial meeting. I just want to make sure that you know that you can tell him to stop. _Whatever_ you are doing. Luke doesn’t want to hurt you but his wolf can get a bit…overzealous at times.”

_Oh god._

Really, that wasn’t a conversation that Daphne wanted to have with _Ollie_. Or with _anybody_ for that matter. But especially not with her **_cousin_**. 

“Ollie, it’s…nice that you are trying to look out for me but…the only thing we have done is holding hands!” Daphne cut him off before he could get any other ideas. 

“That’s good! It can stay like that for a little while,” he told her enthusiastically and Daphne bit back a retort about Ollie and Grace doing far worse than Daphne holding hands with Luke. 

The two of them were well-known for kissing at practically every opportunity that presented herself. 

She didn’t say that though, only amused smiling, a bit touched that Ollie was trying to look out for her even when it clearly made him uncomfortable. 

It was sweet and well-intentioned, even when Daphne didn’t want to think about that part of her life right now. 

She wasn’t ready for that or anything else that came with mating with Luke. She just…She just wanted to try and figure out their relationship before she threw even more into the mix. Werewolves were enough right now. Thank you very much. 

Still, she couldn’t help herself from smiling brightly when she saw Luke as they arrived at school.

She happily jumped out of the car, careful not to fall on the ice that was on the parking lot and then smiled at him. 

“Hey,” she brought out, and he leaned down to hug her tightly. 

She loved it when he did that. She just wanted to bury into his arms for as long as he led her, closing her eyes and breathing him in. 

He smelled like the forest and the ocean and something else that she couldn’t place, a smell of wilderness that was…very attractive. 

It made her feel safe and protected and a part of her brain wanted that smell around her always. Daphne didn’t want to think about that part of her brain anymore. 

“Are you okay?” He asked her softly as she held on to him for a moment longer and she nodded. 

“Just…a bit worried,” she admitted hesitantly. 

Even Ollie had told her that it would be fine that morning on their drive to school while she had silently freaked out on the seat next to him. But that hadn’t helped. 

She was worried. About how the school would react to her and Luke’s fledgeling relationship, to what gossip would be there behind her back…Because Daphne knew that wouldn’t happen. 

All of them would wonder why a boy like Luke was interested in a girl like her. 

“It will be alright,” Luke promised her. Daphne wished she had even an ounce of Luke’s optimism. She didn’t.

She was expecting the worst. 

“It will be alright, I promise. Nothing is going to happen,” he told her again, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair and she let him do that, her hands still fisted in the hoodie he wore underneath his parka. 

He smoothed down the messy blonde hair that Daphne had thrown back into a French braid that morning, not in the mood to have it hanging around her

It tapped into some kind of her brain, somehow telling her that she was safe and that he was going to keep her that way. 

“You can’t always protect me,” Daphne whispered. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to always protect her…

“No. But there is pack here as well. And we protect our own,” Luke said, meeting her eyes. His eyes were green and brown, golden flecks throughout and finally, she nodded her agreement, pulling her hands away from his hoodie and crossing her arms. She was being ridiculous. She was needy and...

“Stop it,” Luke said suddenly and she looked up. What had she done? “You are allowed to be scared. After what happened to you…it isn’t much of a surprise,” Luke whispered. He reached out to touch her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing over her cheekbone. 

“He won’t _ever_ come near you again.” The promise was clear in his voice. “Ready to go inside? Nobody is going to do **_anything_**.”

Not really. She would much prefer to go back home and hide in her room for a little while longer. 

“Can I have another hug first?” Daphne brought out hesitantly, really not sure, if…but his touch was the one thing that made her feel safe. That made her feel taken care of and safe and like she belonged somewhere. 

Thankfully he only smiled at her, a wide happy smile, opening his arms and letting her hug him again before he folded his much bigger arms around her tightly. 

“You can have a hug **_whenever_** you want, Sweetheart,” he whispered. 

_Oh_. 

There was a weird sense of warmth building in her chest at the use of that endearment that stayed even when he let her go and instead slipped his hand in hers. 

“Come on.” 

He grinned at her widely and she couldn’t help but smile back, walking in the school building, tucked against his side, her hand in his. 

It shouldn’t have surprised her in retrospect how many of the other students openly stared at them. 

But at that moment she just looked down on the floor, her face probably beet red at the whispers seemed to grow in volume. She pushed them away, instead concentrating on Luke. 

What were they thinking at that moment? Were they wondering what Luke had been thinking? Were they considering what kind of…benefits she must have so that he was her…boyfriend? Was he her boyfriend? 

She had no idea. They held hands. He never tried to kiss her. But she was willing to try and be his mate and that…that probably made them boyfriend and girlfriend, right?

Right?

“Let them stare. They’ll find something else to gossip about soon enough,” Luke told her softly and she nodded her agreement as they reached their lockers. She carefully unloaded most of the books in her locker, not wanting to think about it anymore. 

She also didn’t want to think about what Haley would do once she found out. 

“How are your senses?” Luke asked her and Daphne managed to put a smile on her face. 

“All good, I’ll be fine,” she told him. She didn’t believe her own words, but he didn’t need to know that. 

“Tell me, if that changes, alright?”

***

Daphne was doing much better than he expected to be honest. Luke had half expected her to run away screaming that morning, but her hand had just tightened around his in a vice-like grip and he happily lived with that tiny bit of discomfort if it comforted her.

By the time lunch had come around, the gossip seemed to have completed his round around the school and while there was still whispering, the staring had stopped at least some. And Daphne was giggling and chatting with Kiana, who was telling his mate all about the disastrous date she had gone on a few weeks ago. 

Date…he should probably take Daphne out on one. 

The problem was only that he had no idea where to take her. 

He didn’t want to go too far away from home, didn’t want to go anywhere where she didn’t feel safe, which directly started to rule out somewhere with a lot of people. 

There was no way he was dragging her to a cinema, that would just promise disaster. Sitting in a dark room with a lot of people was not his idea of a fun time either…

Daphne stiffening beside him pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned towards her, her skin colour turning sickly white with every passing minute. 

And then he could hear Haley. 

Two tables to their right, the conversation clearly _intended_ to be overheard by other humans and Daphne and him in particular. 

“God, she must be good in bed. That’s the only reason why he would want to be with her,” Haley snorted loudly and Daphne just kept staring at the table, while he could feel the fury started to burn in his veins. 

There were a hundred reasons why he wanted to be with Daphne and not a single one had anything to do with _that_. 

“She isn’t even pretty!” Tiffany, one of Haley’s friend agreed with her and he couldn’t help the growl that escaped him. 

And then suddenly, there was Daphne’s hand on his, her much smaller one grasping his. 

“ _Don’t_ , Luke,” she whispered. She looked at him with these startling violet eyes, clearly trying desperately to put on a brave face for him. “It’s okay.”

It was obvious how not okay it was, but she still grasped his hand and so he took it and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss against it. He let her soft milky white skin and the scent of cinnamon and home soothe the wolf that was railing against the disrespect of his mate. 

Oh, how Luke wished he could do something against it. 

“Ollie, you neither,” Grace hissed at that moment, holding back his best friend of making his displeasure clear at Haley. 

Luke was not going to fo beat up a human or a girl for that matter, his father would kill him. And his mate had asked him not to as well. So he pushed down the fury, his wolf growling in displeasure at the fledging bond that he and Daphne had formed to be disrespected like that. 

His mate was being disrespected and he would love to do something against it, but he couldn’t. Not right now. A full cafeteria was not the place for that. 

Instead, he pressed another kiss to her hand, enjoying how her pulse seemed to jump at that, her heart beating in a wild and fluttery rhythm. She was blushing again but didn’t pull back her hand. 

And then pushed a muffin his mother had baked nearer to her. 

“Eat some more, sweetheart,” he told her softly, ignoring whatever else Haley and her friends were saying at that moment. Daphne was starting to protest but he just prodded the muffin closer to her again. “Just a bit. Please?” Luke asked softly, trying his best to make puppy dog eyes at her and she smiled, taking the muffin. 

She was too thin. The winter was arriving fast and quick and she needed the energy. She was so tiny that she seemed fragile and easily breakable, like a bird. And while he had seen how strong she was, how much she had survived…he didn’t want her to just survive any longer. She deserved a soft place to land, somewhere where their finals were her only worry. 

And he and Haley would have a talk soon, Luke vowed. Less he was really going to end up being killed by his father. 

Thankfully (or not thankfully, Luke wasn’t sure if that was the right description for what he was feeling) he got that opportunity that very same afternoon. 

He wasn’t stupid enough to do it alone. That would allow Haley to open a can of worms that Luke had no interest to open. Instead, Grace and Ollie were both having his back, his sister’s arms crossed in front of her chest, a hand on her mate’s arm as well. It was as much soothing as restrained. 

Grace would have no problem putting Ollie down onto the ground if he suddenly decided to wolf out at Haley. 

“Haley!” He called out for her after practice and she turned, her normal gaggle of girlfriends around her that was giggling and chatting again.

“Luke, what do you want?” She asked him a winning smile on her face, obviously expecting him to ask her to take him back. That was never going to happen. Not in a million years. And then she opened her pink painted lips again and Luke remembered why.“Aren’t you busy with your charity case?” 

**_His charity case?_ **

“My charity case?” He asked softly, crossing his arms and fixing Haley with a look. Everybody that knew him at all, knew that now would have been the time to back off. Luke was easygoing and nice most of the time…until you really, really, really managed to piss him off. 

He could smell her scent, the iciness of the bluebells she smelled like, whatever perfume she wore piled on top of him but also the pheromones she was throwing off. **_Attraction_**. Clearly. 

A few months ago, Luke had still been on board to get laid by her. He had been willing to put his…dislike of some of her traits behind him and focus on…the physical pleasure. Now…Now Luke just wondered what he had been thinking. 

“Or what do you call Daphne?” She asked him with a fake smile and he just raised an eyebrow. 

“My girlfriend.” That did make Haley’s jaw drop but she recovered quite quickly. “And I would appreciate it very much if you could keep your mouth _shut,”_ he added carefully. 

“And _why_ should I do that?” She questioned him with a snort and he met her eyes, staring her down. 

“Because if you don’t it would, really, really, **_really_** piss me off. And you **_don’t_** want to do that,” he answered matter of factly. “We are not going to get back together, Haley, even if I ever should break up with Daphne.” He wasn’t planning on ever doing that, to be honest.

A small part of him was already thinking too far ahead about something that involved white picket fences and rings. He didn’t tell that to anybody.

Not yet. Maybe one day he could share it with Daphne without having her run away screaming but he really wasn’t so sure about that. 

“What do you want with her?” Haley asked him aghast. “She’s a **_basket case_** , Luke. She only drawing in her weird little sketchbook. Her mother died and half of the time she isn’t even talking. And she isn’t pretty. She doesn’t _even_ wear makeup!”

Luke could have laughed at the ridiculousness of the whole situation but he couldn’t. He just shook his head. 

“Because clearly makeup is the gold standard for beauty,” he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Haley, I couldn’t care less is Daphne suddenly decides to put two inches of makeup on her face every day. She’s not just beautiful because of the way she looks but because of the way she interacts with the people around her.”

Like Daphne’s face was the only thing that had pulled him to her. It was the way she had an unending patient with Thalia, how happy she was to be with her family, how easily content she was… 

“She’s so much **_nicer_** than you are. And that’s what I want. A nice girl. Somebody who loves her family and friends…for whom that is the most important thing.” He cocked his head to the side, taking in how Haley was just staring at him. “You called my sister a **_bitch_**. That’s **_unforgivable_**.”

“I…” Haley stuttered out. 

“My family is the ** _most important thing in my life_**. You can’t get along with them, this would have never worked out,” Luke told her truthfully. “Leave Daphne alone. She isn’t the one at fault that we are a completely and utterly incompatible, Haley.”

He turned around to walk away and for once in her life, Haley was quiet. He felt a bit bad for her to be honest. 

Luke had no idea if she actually was in love with him but he was quite certain that at least she believed herself to be.

Whatever it was, he had never planned to hurt her. He had made it clear from the beginning that their relationship was fun but not really serious and she had seemed alright with that. She had wanted the **status** of being the quarterback’s girlfriend and that probably should have been a bright red warning signal. 

“I think you gave her something to think about,” Oliver told him and Luke shrugged. 

**_“I hope so.”_ **

Maybe she was finally going to leave Daphne in peace. Luke could only hope so. 

***  
It was like a switch was flipped. 

Suddenly Haley had moved on to completely and utterly ignore her. 

Not that it bothered Daphne. She was very much on board with that. Haley could never speak to her again and Daphne would be content. 

And with that stopping…school wasn’t that bad anymore either. 

She got to study and do her homework, she got to hold hands with Luke during lunch break and she got to paint during Art Club with Kiana. She got to come home, a fire on in the fireplace and hot chocolate on the stove waiting for the four of them. She got to have family dinners with Caroline and Matthew and Ollie…she got to curl up on her bed and have Luke with her, right beside her. 

She never asked him to go away, and he never asked her if he shouldn’t come. He made the nightmares stay away and while Daphne couldn’t help but feel guilty for using him as her own personal security blanket….she always wanted him there with her. 

All in all, …it was pretty great though. 

That Friday, there had been talks about some kind of werewolf football games with the cubs and Daphne had no desire to be there for that. She was still grappling with the whole concept of werewolves being real, even when she had one sleep in front of her bed for two or three weeks now. 

So she laughingly begged out of it, told Luke to have fun and kissed his cheek. “You’ll win,” she told him sure of it and he grinned at her widely and happily. 

“What do I get when I win?” He asked her playfully and she leaned back her head, biting her lips. 

**Oh god.**

“What do you **_want_**?” She asked him, trying her best not to let the nervousness show. 

He leaned down so that his lips could brush over her cheeks and then the shell of her ear. She was unable not to shiver, her mind suddenly empty as she could feel him so very close to her. 

“Another kiss,” Luke whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her face. A kiss. He wanted a kiss? **_A kiss?_**

“You win, you’ll get that,” she brought out, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. _He really wanted to kiss her?_

As an answer he pressed a kiss against her cheek and then stood up straight again, still grinning again. 

“But **_no cheating!_** ” Daphne told him, poking him in the chest with her pointer finger and he laughed. 

“I **_promise_** ,” he told her earnestly. “I’ll earn that kiss fair and square. See you this evening.”

Ollie dropped her off at home before he went to the Schuyler’s and Daphne opened the front door quietly, hanging up her parka and her scarf, both still courtesy of Caroline because they hadn’t found the time to go shopping again.

Daphne heard another voice coming from the living room as she slipped out of her shoes.

“Well, you know how my brother can be,” a woman said, amusement apparent in her voice and Daphne needed a moment to place it. Oh, wasn’t that Leda Randall? Caroline’s editor?

“Grouchy?” Her aunt offered and Daphne heard Leda laugh softly. 

“Like a dog with a bone…Just that nobody knows what that bone currently is. I am sure we will find out soon enough…And regret all of our life choices.” 

“Good Afternoon,” Daphne greeted them softly as she stepped into the kitchen, finding them at the island. 

“Daphne! There you are!” Her aunt greeted her with a hug. “Where’s Ollie?” She wondered but Daphne just shrugged with a smile.

“There is some kind of football game going on at the Schuyler’s. Humans not invited,” she explained. 

“Well, you aren’t a human anymore,” Leda told her with a grin. 

“Is it that obvious?” Daphne couldn’t help but ask but Leda just smirked amusedly at her.

“Only if you know what you are looking for. Your scent has changed…and you have Lucas Schuyler’s scent all over you as well.” 

That managed to make Daphne bright red while Caroline laughed softly. 

“He hugged me,” she defended herself against what she wasn’t quite sure. 

“I heard he’s your mate. A good choice,” her aunt’s friend complimented her and Daphne was a bit taken aback by that. 

“It didn’t really feel like a choice, to be honest…but I couldn’t have chosen better if I tried,” Daphne gave back calmly. 

“Have you shifted yet?” Leda asked her curiously and she shook her head, resulting in an understanding smile on the woman’s face. 

“All the bad parts and none of the fun stuff yet,” Leda told her with a grin and Daphne did her best not to stare at the woman. Right…because changing into a giant wolf was…great. 

She knew that was something she was…one day supposed to do but, to be honest…Daphne didn’t really have a want for it. Alone the idea of it scared the fuck out of her and she really didn’t believe that it would be a nice experience. 

“Sit down, Honey,” Caroline told her gently and then put a mug of hot coat in front of her together with a plate filled with chocolate chip cookies, something that Daphne happily took to munch on. 

She suddenly had started to have a lot more appetite, something that Luke had told her was because werewolves burned around 4000 calories just walking around. 

And Daphne had taken that to mean that she could now gorge herself on cookies and sweets whenever she wanted. 

“I have a bit of a confession to make,” Leda told her with an apologetic smile. 

About what was that now?

“The last time I was here, I looked through your sketchbook.” Yeah, Daphne had seen that. And had felt more embarrassment about that than anything else. 

“And I took some pictures to take back to New York with me. Randall Publishing wants to publish a book about Princess Plumella and her pet dragon.”

Wait, **_what_**?

Daphne could just stare. That couldn’t…she had always wanted to make her painting her job one day but she had known that that was a dream that was far, far away. She had no family that supported her and would make it possible for her to go study art at a university for no other reason than to do some networking, or somebody that would pay all the postage to send people her manuscript…nor had she ever thought that her pictures or her writing were good enough for anything but to amuse herself for a few hours. 

“You would write it, you would paint the pictures, you would get paid for it,” Leda continued. 

She would actually get paid for it…Paid to make art and finish that story that hadn’t gone away again after she had thought it up at that football game to entertain Talia. 

But still…

“Why do you want to publish it?” Daphne brought out. “It’s just a story. Not even a very good one at that.”

“Because it’s cute and lovely and everything a children’s book should be. And your writing is very vivid. Just like your aunts,” Leda answered calmly. “You seem to have inherited her way with words.”

“Daphne…it’s your decision. If you don’t want to do it, you can say no. If you do want to do it…you say yes,” Caroline told her softly. “Just don’t take on more than you can manage.”

“I won’t…I promise my grades aren’t going to drop,” Daphne promised immediately but Caroline just smiled gently, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair back into Daphne's milkmaid braids. 

“I know that, honey,” Caroline said. 

Daphne turned to Leda, for a moment contemplating her options. Really…really there was only one answer she could give without regretting it for the rest of her life. 

“Yes, I…I want to do it.”

Two hours later, Daphne left home, wrapped in a parka and a scarf, bright red beanie on her head, making her way over to the Schuyler’s house. 

She couldn’t help but look behind her every 6 feet but she managed to arrive at the Schuyler’s House just a few minutes later, a bright smile on her face. 

She got to write a book. She was supposed to hand in a first written draft in shortly before Christmas and then she would get to draw all the pictures.

What’s not to love about that?

She would get money for it as well, a **_lot_** of money. Far more money that Daphne had ever managed to make with waitressing or at the grocery store or at whatever other little jobs she had found herself to do in the neighbourhood. 

Kiana was watching from the living room, being joined by Cecilia Schuyler, Luke’s mother who seemed very much amused by the antics of the younger members of the pack. 

It looked more like an overenthusiastic game of tackle than football but they were obviously having their fun. 

“Who is winning?” She asked Kiana as more laughter and giggles came from the garden. 

“Luke is,” Kiana answered with a wink and Daphne wondered if she somehow knew about the promise of that kiss.

She couldn’t help but feel the fluttering in her stomach, the anxiety as her mind proceeded to think of every way about how that was going to end. 

Not a single one was pleasant. 

And then Luke seemingly materialised in front of her. 

“Daphne,” he greeted her with a smile and she couldn’t help but smile back. The anxiety bled away as soon as she laid eyes on her mate. 

Instead, she happily jumped up and hugged him tightly, letting him twirl her around, while she laughed. 

“You seem really happy,” he whispered and she grinned up at him. 

“I am,” she admitted. So happy. So very happy. 

“Let’s take a walk. And you can tell me what happened?” He offered and she took his hand. 

They went down to the beach, Daphne chattering on and on about being able to write and illustrate a children’s book, unable to keep the idiotic smile from her book. 

“I get to publish a book! I get to write a book, Luke!” She told him excitedly and he joined in with her exhilaration. 

“Do you think Talia is gonna let me read it to her?” She asked him suddenly, as the thought crossed Daphne’s mind and he grinned at her. 

“I think Talia is gonna be absolutely _delighted_ to get more pictures of Princess Plumella and Buttercup,” he answered her, stopping and she turned to face him. 

“I am so happy for you. For having that opportunity. You are going to do an amazing job,” Luke told her truthfully and tears pricked in her eyes. 

“I always wanted this. I wanted to make my art my job one day. And now I get to do it!” She couldn’t believe it, not really but she was just so happy. 

“I always want to see you as happy as you are right now,” Luke whispered, reaching to touch her face and she leaned into his touch, biting her lip and looking at him. 

“Did you win?” She asked softly and he smiled. 

“I did.”

She leaned on her tiptoes to reach him and he leaned down, making it easier. And suddenly…suddenly his lips were on hers and it didn’t seem scary anymore. 

Suddenly it was as easy and natural as breathing. 

Suddenly she wanted to do nothing else for the rest of her life, then to kiss Luke and stay in their happy little bubble at that beach. 

Daphne was _**happy**_. 


	20. Interlude: Taunting Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am like so late...but uni was kicking my butt. You'll get the next full chapter on the weekend, but here you have something to tide you over until then ;)

**_The Truth is rarely pure and never simple._ **

_Oscar Wilde_

It was taunting him. Any other time Cyril Randall would have thought it ridiculous that a stack of sheets of paper had that power over him.

But it was there.

Staring from him from across the room. Taunting him.

He hadn’t allowed him to take a look at the papers since he had received them from an…acquaintances. It wasn’t _exactly_ legal.

Well, it also wasn’t illegal. He wasn’t **_that_** sort of alpha.

He turned his attention back to the papers that he did need to read if he didn’t want Randall Publishing to lose money and banned the stack of papers across the room from his mind.

The knowledge wouldn’t change anything, he told himself.

It had happened nearly 20 years ago. 20 years ago when the title of alpha had been thrust into his arms when his father had been killed by a neighbouring pack. It had been one of the last big conflicts their kind had had.

The territory that had been gained had been split up between the Randall and the Schuyler Pack and since then, there hadn’t been any trouble.

Since they were sharing a border, the Atlantic Seaboard had been peaceful, other than some little skirmishes that Stephen Schuyler hadn’t ever let out of hand.

Stephen Schuyler reigned with an iron fist around his territory and Cyril couldn’t fault him. They needed that kind of strength in an Alpha.

He had met the future alpha of the Schuyler Pack a year ago and couldn’t have helped but be impressed with how a 16-year-old boy already knew exactly what he wanted from life.

There was no question that Lucas Schuyler enjoyed….using every weapon at his disposable to do what every 16-year-old boy wanted to do (not that Cyril could fault him), but there was never a question about Stephen Schuyler’s son not having the same solid moral compass his father possessed.

The Schuyler Pack was in good hands. It would be in good hands for the upcoming generations and that was important.

Cyril himself was still working day and night to turn his own pack into something that he would be proud to leave to his son.

He tried to get back to his papers, signing the few pages that still needed his signature, before he threw the last document on his desk and finally…finally allowed himself to take the file of paper that had taunted him over the last few weeks.

He had fought with himself for days, even weeks, if he wanted to know. Or if he wouldn’t prefer…wouldn’t prefer to spend the rest of his life not knowing.

Was ignorance a treasure? Or should he find out if the inkling he had since that day in his office with his sister had been right?

There was just one option he could take with a clear conscience, wasn’t there?

He could be wrong. He could be wrong about what he feared, he could be wrong about what he expected the file to hold. He could be wrong about it all.

Maybe that ill-advised…fling hadn’t resulted in anything.

He had never let his feelings cloud his decisions after then. It had resulted in a mess the first time…and he was not going through that again.

Maybe she was happily married by now. Maybe she had gotten that exhibition that she had always wanted. Maybe…

There were so many maybes in what Cyril could think off. Maybe he should have fought harder, maybe he shouldn’t have been as selfish, maybe he shouldn’t have listened to his uncle…maybe he shouldn’t have turned his back.

For him, …for him it had worked out. He had a lovely wife that he adored and two children that he loved more than anything.

He wondered if it had worked out for her in the end.

He opened the file.

Cyril Randall was a lot of things.

A fool was **not** one of those.


	21. Chapter 16

**_Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want._ **

_Ken Poirot_

Seeing Daphne’s exhilaration at being able to write that book had been…one of the most beautiful sights of her life. Brightly smiling, violet eyes sparkling with happiness.

The only problem was that Daphne threw herself into the work for that book without any consideration for herself. And really, Luke was more shocked about that than anything else.

He probably should have expected it to be honest. Daphne was used to doing things on her own, and she did have a serious case of perfectionism going on.

Not unlike himself.

The difference was just that Luke had learned to actually take breaks for food and sleep, something that seemed completely _foreign_ to his girlfriend.

While he was busy with football and learning about the construction business he was one day set to inherit, Daphne wrote the first draft of her book. Half of the time, she was still awake when he curled up to sleep in front of her bed and already awake again when it was time for him to run back home to get dressed and have breakfast.

She was absent-minded a lot of time, all her concentration either on her schoolwork or on the book and _maybe_ Luke was getting a tiny, tiny bit jealous of that book.

Scratch that, he was jealous. Very Jealous.

That Book got all of Daphne’s attention after all.

And he was also aware that it was ridiculous because Daphne wasn’t going to start to cheat on him with a book of all things. But still…

He was supportive because it was important to her. And he could deal with his misplaced jealousy over something that was a wish being fulfilled that she never thought she would get.

“I thought we could go out on the weekend,” he suggested over lunch two weeks later and she made an affirmative noise, blonde hair tumbling all around her in messy waves that she pushed back from her forehead with an impatient growl.

For once her blonde hair was tumbling over her shoulder in silvery waves, something that didn’t happen often. Most of the time she had it twisted on top of her head in a messy bun or braided in a long braid fallow down her back with hair trying desperately to escape.

It was itching in his finger to try

“Daphne,” he said her name, a tiny bit of possessiveness bleeding into his voice and she looked up startled. Just enough time for him to steal her sketchbook and close it carefully.

“Let’s go out. Have a date. Maybe in Augusta…” he suggested again and this time she stared at him before her eyes went down again and she stared at the table like it was the most interesting thing ever.

It wasn’t. At all.

“We never had a date,” she said softly, sounding nearly unsure and he nodded.

“That’s why I thought it would be a good idea,” he told her amused but she still seemed hesitant.

“…isn’t that kinda superfluous now?” She finally asked him and he could just stare at her. Superfluous? Why would going on a date be superfluous? That made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

He wanted to go out with his mate, with his girlfriend. Why would that be superfluous?

“What do you mean?” He asked Daphne, not understanding why she didn’t seem like she was on board with the idea.

“I mean…we are mates, we already kissed. You don’t need to romance me to get what you want from me,” she told him, her voice telling him everything he needed to know, reaching out to take her sketchbook back. “It’s fine. I don’t need dates.”

Her voice was hesitant, quiet like she didn’t want to upset him, like she thought that he wouldn’t want to be seen in public with her.

Like she thought he was doing this long-sufferingly only for her and she didn’t want him to do that.

“Daphne…” he started and then came up empty with what he actually wanted to tell her. 

“Sweetheart…There is always a need to romance you,” he finally told her, doing his best to grin at her and she looked up again, biting her lip. “I am not going to stop taking you out on dates even when we are married,” he told her seriously.

“Married?” She asked him, her voice so small that he worried that he had misstepped, but then he saw the small blush there on her cheeks and he nodded.

“In a few years,” he said easily. “If you are nice enough to take pity of me.”

She looked at him at that, giggling but she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“What about Friday after school?” He suggested and she nodded her agreement.

“Sounds great,” she answered, a real smile on his face for once.

Seems like he needed to figure out somewhere to take his girlfriend on Friday.

That was easier said than done. He made and discarded at least a dozen different plans, finding an error in every single one, until he finally settled on something that suited him and that he thought could be a good time for Daphne.

He was so busy with making his plans that he forget about that most important part of that plan.

And that was that Daphne should actually be awake enough to talk to him and not be a walking zombie that only yawned and nearly ran into three lockers on the way to class.

He watched that during the day, not making a single comment about it even when there were worry and anger pooling in his gut.

Was she ever going to learn that her own health and well-being were also important?

Somehow he doubted that. Very, very much.

Instead, he watched how she pulled on her Parka over her thick sweater when she started getting cold during lunch, offering his hands to warm hers.

He still didn’t comment on it. Finally, school was out after he had football training and Daphne Art Club and they walked towards his car.

Once inside he put on the heating while he waited for the parking lot to get a bit less busy.

“Where are we going?” Daphne asked him, hiding another yawn behind her hand.

“Home. You are going to take a nap,” he told her drily. There was no use to dragging her anywhere while she was a sleep-deprived zombie.

“I am not tired…” she protested, her protest cut off by another yawn.

“Sure you aren’t, sweetheart,” he snorted, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. “Your skin is icy. That doesn’t happen to werewolves other they are sick or so sleep deprived that they can’t keep warm any longer. ”

“I am sorry,” she apologised, her voice broken and he could smell her scent changing, fear creeping in. She was fearing him.

“You don’t need to apologise to me, Daphne,” he told her softly. “Why are you doing this to yourself?” He finally questioned her. There needed to be a reason for this, there needed to be some reason for why she was doing that.

“I…” “I need to finish that book,” she admitted hesitantly.

“Your deadline is a month away,” he told her drily. She stayed quiet and he let her.

“Where are we going?” Daphne suddenly asked him when he didn’t turn right to the Hyde’s house but instead continued straight ahead to his parent’s house.

“Preferably somewhere I don’t need to lock away your pencils,” he gave back calmly and she opened her mouth to protest but closed it again.

“Don’t try to protest, we both know that you would have tried to talk me out of it,” he added, not a trace of amusement in his voice anymore.

And there was that other part of him, the wolf that was growling in approval to having Daphne in what he considered his territory.

In comparison to a lot of other werewolves his age, Luke had never really had a strong territorial instinct. So it was startling to suddenly feel that need to bring Daphne somewhere which he could control and where he knew the layout like the back of his hand.

He probably shouldn’t have surprised, should he? He knew that his instincts had become primed since Kyle had hurt her. Since then he couldn’t help himself but make sure that his scent was wrapped all around the Hyde’s House as much as possible. An obvious warning for everybody that came near there that the Hyde’s House was seen as part of Luke’s territory.

And now when Daphne wasn’t completely healthy, overtired and even less able to protect herself than usual…it would give him more peace than anything to get her home in the small cabin that he called home.

“I am fine,” her voice pulled him out of his thoughts as he drove around the main house towards the back, parking the car next to the former barn that now was his room.

He pulled the key from the ignition and looked at her. She looked at him, with big purple eyes, biting her lip again and he nodded.

“Yes, you are. And if I have anything to say about it, then you are going to stay that way,” he gave back calmly. She averted her gaze at that but he reached out to tip her chin up, meeting her eyes with his again. “We are mates. There is no need to try and do **_everything_** alone anymore, Daphne,” he told her softly.

“I am used to it,” Daphne finally admitted and he wanted to pull her in his arms and never let her go again. She shuddered again, with memories or cold he wasn’t sure, but they couldn’t keep sitting in the car for the rest of the afternoon.

“I know,” he said instead, the words lacking as he wondered how long it would take her to look at him and see that he was not going anywhere.“Let’s go inside.”

***

Daphne wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been that. She had believed that Luke had a room in the main house just as Grace had, but apparently that had been wrong. Instead, his room was in one of the outbuildings on the acres of land that the Scuylers owned.

Small and Cozy, once it had been a small barn, now it was Luke’s small…cottage. An A-Frame House, with the living room and kitchen on the ground floor and a bed up in the loft above their heads.

It was furnished with warm and cosy tones of brown and green, seemingly a perfect representation of the forest that Luke loved so much.

As soon as Daphne stepped foot into it, she registered Luke’s scent in the air, something that just managed to make her feel more safe and secure than anything else.

“I moved in here about 2 years ago…Grace and Ollie were…months away from mating and that was something that was starting to set me on edge,” Luke explained as he closed the door behind them, moving behind her to take her Coat from her, something that still managed to weird her out whenever he did that.

“Why was it starting to do that?” She asked him curiously, unable to keep the question at bay. Luke had never seemed to be displeased about Grace and Ollie being mates, or anything else but weakly exasperated when the two of them were making out against the car door.

“Too many hormones, too many pheromones…I was sleeping in the forest for a few nights a week because I just needed to get time away from it all. I always wanted what Grace and Ollie had, you know?” Luke answered as he walked to the fireplace that was surrounded by two big blue armchairs and began to stack a fire. “Werewolves tend to find early and while 15 isn’t late for our kind…being surrounded by happily mated pairs was not exactly soothing me. So Dad thought that getting out of there for a little while…at least until Grace and Ollie had figured everything out would probably help me and it did.”

“You should put on something comfortable,”

“I don’t have anything with me.”

“The closet is back there and the bathroom as well, just take what you need,” Luke answered absentmindedly, heading towards the small kitchenette.

She took that as permission to spend a minute or two snooping through his closet, while she pulled out a long-sleeved shirt and drawstring pyjamas pants from his closet.

There were a lot of dark colours, a lot of Henleys and hoodies in his closet. Back in one corner, the more formal clothes were kept and Daphne stared surprised at the black tuxedo which was kept there as well.

Why had Luke of all people need for a black tuxedo or an assortment of suits?

Most of the time he seemed to spend his time either building various things (Grace had been the recipient for a tiny shelf for her nail polish which now happily hung in her bathroom and it seemed that Luke could pretty much build everything if he put his mind to it) or he was pouring over some spreadsheets that Daphne knew to be the returns of Schuyler Construction. Even now Luke was already deeply invested in the family business that he was set to one day take over. Of course, there were also various football games involved but nothing that he seemed like he needed suits for.

Shrugging her shoulders, she went to the bathroom, changing out the jeans and blouse she had worn, a pretty blue colour, but too thin for the current climate.

She changed into Luke’s clothing which was ridiculously oversized on her and resulted in her nearly falling over the legs of his pyjama pants if he hadn’t caught her when she left the bathroom.

“I look great, don’t I?” She asked him with a raised eyebrow, waving her arms so that the ends of his shirt flapped around emptily with them being around 10 inches too long on her arms and he laughed.

He caught her arm, gently rolling up the sleeves until her hand was visible again and then pressing a kiss against her forehead.

“You would look great wearing nothing but a potato sack,” he told her with a grin.

She couldn’t help but blush at that, not knowing what she was supposed to do.

“In front of the fireplace with you. Your hands are icy,” he told her, pressing another kiss to her forehead and she did as he told her, surprised to see that he had pushed the armchairs away and had instead spread blankets and pillows on the wood floor covered by a thick carpet.

She sat down there, for a moment luxuriating in the warmth of the fire roaring next to her, and couldn’t help but flinch when a growl ripped through the cabin.

A look out of the window told her that outside there was a thunderstorm coming in, the sky painted in all shades of grey and blue.

It would have been beautiful in any other situation but at that moment she couldn’t help but flinch again.

“It’s just a thunderstorm,” Luke told her when he came to join her, passing a mug of hot cocoa over to her. “Nothing to worry about. Let’s hope the streets don’t ice over…”

She took a sip of the cocoa, unable not to smile when she saw that there were even marshmallows in there. It tasted good, thick and creamy and warm.

“Mom taught me how to make it. ” Daphne looked up surprised at that admission but Luke smiled at her. “She makes the very best hot cocoa you can imagine.”

Daphne flinched another time, when another thunder growled through the city, this time followed by a lightning bolt.

“It’s nothing bad. We get them mostly in spring, but sometimes they also happen in winter,” Luke said, a hand on her arm, touching her wrist gentle and taking the mug from her hands. “We are safe inside.”

The rain started at that moment, fat drops pouring from the sky, the sound too loud in her ears, which didn’t really make any sense at all.

Suddenly, Luke’s hand were on hers again and she stared at him, suddenly scared, the noise of the thunderstorm ringing some sort of alarm bell in her head, some sort of animalistic instinct that she couldn’t place.

“Look at me,” he told her, ordered her nearly, her head whipping around as she tried to do what he told her to. She didn’t know why but something…something told her that this was important.

She stared in his eyes, violet meeting green when he pulled her as close to himself as it was possible.

He cupped her face in his big hands, pulling her as close to himself as he could so that her she was pressed against his chest, laying in the nest of blankets that he had made.

***

It was a lucky thing that he had caught the beginnings of the sensory overload she had been experiencing and instead, he gave her and her instincts something else to focus on.

It was his fault that the fledgeling bond they had was strained enough that this was triggered by a thunderstorm of all things and he cupped the back of her head and the small of her back, carefully to spread his fingers to that it felt like she was able to reach the biggest amount of her skin.

The bond they had…the one that would be finally completed with a claiming bite from both of them, was something that had begun to form from the moment he had first laid eyes on her.

He knew that it grew stronger with physical proximity, while it could be stressed through a long distance, there was a second thing it needed to grow healthy. And that was physical contact. Something that the two of them hadn’t indulged in.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, feeling her pulse thrum under her soft skin and then very gently nuzzled against the side of her neck.

For a moment her whole body drew up against him and he expected her to push him away. She didn’t.

She offered her neck to him, a shaking breath escaping her when he pressed a kiss against the pulse point.

He wanted to bit her. The want to it overcame him suddenly and hardly and he pulled back, knowing that he couldn’t. Not yet. They were both not ready for that. In any way or form.

They needed more time to get to know each other, more time to but a relationship. But for the moment…for the moment holding her in his arms would be enough.

“Our bond is stressed. That’s why your wolf is getting hyper-reactive right now,” Luke explained gently, rubbing his hand in small circles over the fabric of his own shirt on her body.

He should have thought about that beforehand.

He could feel her breath hitch, the scent of fear intensifying when she pressed closer to him.

“Why? Have I done something wrong?” She asked him, sounding so anxious that he tried to soothe her immediately. .

“No, sweetheart. It gets stressed easily right now, because it’s incomplete. But it needs…physical contact to ground itself. And it hadn’t had that over the last few weeks,” he tried to explain it to her and she lifted her head from where it laid on his chest, her eyes filling with tears.

“because I was busy…” she whispered but he shook his head.

“It’s not your fault. I should have recognised the signs sooner,” he soothed her. Something that he wanted to curse himself out for. “You didn’t know what to look for. I did. I am sorry for that. We’ll just need to tell your wolf that she’s safe and that I am not letting anything happen to my mate so that she can settle down a bit.

“It’s just a thunderstorm. Nothing to worry about. And I am not going anywhere,” he repeated and he felt a bit of tension bleed out of her body.

“Just sleep for a bit,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. It took a while before the hand that was fisted into his shirt finally let go of him and when he heard her breathing start to get deeper and more relaxed, he let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

They needed to take better care of that.

It explained why he had been so irritated with her lack of affection towards him as well as why she had been irritated as well.

The physical contact they needed didn’t need to be sexual in the slightest.

Just laying wrapped around her like that…it already manage to relax him in a way more than anything else. Every time had slept in front of her bed, he slept deep but always with the thought in the back of his mind that he was between the door and her and as soon as any other person in the house so much at coughed he had woken up, ready to put himself bodily between Daphne and any harm that could have come from that.

The thunderstorm continued and he continued to hold her, burying his face in her white-blonde hair and breathing in her scent.

He could smell himself on her as well, their scents slowly but surely mixing. Right now it wasn’t very obvious, not yet. He wanted to roll himself in her scent and surround himself with it and holding her like that…it was the best thing.

It was perfect.

She trusted him enough that she fell asleep in his arms, letting him hold her and he startled out of his doing when he heard Daphne’s phone vibrate.

He reached out to take it from where her bag late near to them, surprised to see that she had a few missed text messages from Caroline who was calling her right now was well.

“Daphne?” Caroline asked as soon as he picked up. “I think you and Luke should be careful with driving right now.”

“It’s Luke,” he interrupted her gently. “We aren’t in Augusta. Daphne hasn’t really slept in the last few days so I took her back to our house and she’s taking a nap. The thunderstorm seems like it’s gonna go on for a little while. ”

“She’s okay?” Caroline asked him worriedly.

“Just a bit tired, nothing to worry about,” he answered immediately. “If it was anything else, she would already be with Matthew,” he told Caroline seriously who laughed softly before she grew serious again.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” she said, her voice soft and his heart pulled together at that.

“She’s my mate. That’s my job,” he gave back, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

“Let her sleep. She looked like she needs it this morning. She can stay the night if she wants to. I don’t want either of you to drive in that weather. Just… **be careful** , alright?”

“Thank you. We will, I promise,” he promised. “See you soon.”

***

When she finally woke up, she was wrapped in Luke's arms. Again or still, she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t help but flinch once more when another lightning bolt struck through the sky for a moment illuminating the room even when her eyes were closed.

She pushed as close as possible to Luke who pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

“Waking up, sleepyhead?” He asked her softly.

She made an approving noise finally blinking open her eyes.

“How late is it?” She asked him with a yawn, tucking her head back against his chest.

“Around 6 in the evening…” Luke murmured. His arm was draped over her hip, her shirt ridden up and his thumb slowly tracing over the naked skin on her side.

She couldn’t help but concentrate on that, even the simple touch feeling scarily intimate and the heat was spreading from the small place he was actually touching through her whole body.

“The storm is still going strong,” Luke commented, sounding non the worse for wear while Daphne wondered if she would be able to get anything other out than stammering.

Sometimes…sometimes when he touched her, it felt overwhelming. Her whole body concentrated on that one place where she touched Luke and she never quite knew how to deal with it.

He was a very tactile person, always reaching out to hold her hand and have an arm around her shoulder or her waist, a hand on the small of her back. Even when they kept the PDA to minimum, that didn’t mean that Luke didn’t always touch her in some ways…and sometimes it became overwhelming.

She wasn’t used to a person touching her like that…carefully like that…trying not to hurt her. Luke was _always_ careful with her _._. like she was a small and fragile thing…like she was something to be **_cherished_** of all things. 

He never grabbed her tightly, not really. It was always careful. And sometimes Daphne wondered how big the difference between werewolf strength and human strength was…because she somehow knew that Luke held back with her. A lot.

“Daphne?” His voice interrupted her musing and she looked up at him startled, violet eyes meeting green.

“I was saying that your aunt called. She said you could stay the night if you wanted to. Because of the storm.”

She could just stare at him, blood draining out of her face. It wasn’t that she was scared of Luke. She wasn’t. Really.

Only…only sometimes it welled up in her, when he moved to fast, when she could feel the strength in his muscles…they made her feel safe because she knew that he would protect her. But if he ever turned against her…if he ever hurt her…

And she couldn’t…she couldn’t give him that. She wasn’t ready for that. Not even near ready. Not…

“I…I can’t,” she got out, trying to get some distance between them, instincts kicking in that “I am not…ready for that, I am sorry,” she apologised, sitting up and crossing her arms in front of her. Suddenly she was feeling exposed in a way she never had before. Suddenly…

“Hey,” Luke interrupted her gently, holding his hands up. “First of all…nothing is going to happen. Neither one of us is in any way ready for that. And second, there is no need to apologise for you not being ready either.”

“I…I just…I am sure you have…needs,” she brought out, unable not to turn bright red at that when she…thought about that in any nearer capacity. Oh god.

How was that…and Kiana had talked about knotting…

“That’s why they invented masturbation,” Luke gave back drily and she was unable not to laugh hesitantly at that. “I am serious Daphne. We are nowhere near ready for sex or mating. You can stay the night but the only thing that is going to happen is sleep. I promise.”

“Not even kissing?” It burst out of her and now it was his turn to laugh softly.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” He asked her, laying his head to the side and she couldn’t help for her cheeks to turn even redder as she nodded.

“I always want you to kiss me,” she admitted softly.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Luke told her with a grin, leaning forward so that he was near enough to press his lips to hers in a short kiss.

It was much too short for her liking but she could work with that.

“Now, what do you think about grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner?” He asked her, pressing another kiss to her forehead and she smiled at him.

“I think that’s the best idea you had today.”

Daphne’s and Luke’s first date ended up being grilled cheese sandwiches on his couch.

Daphne wouldn’t change it for the world. It was just the two of them, Bobby interrupting, while outside the storm was raging on, the fire was slowly burning down and there was nothing to worry about.

Maybe it was terribly unromantic. But it worked for the two of them. And by the time there was chocolate chip ice cream as dessert and they both needed up with whip cream all over their faces because Luke had thought it to be a great idea to smear it on Daphne’s nose…both of them were laughing and smiling and generally feeling happier than they ever had before.

Really, who could be upset if there were ice creams sundaes?

It turned dark outside, the two of them chatting until she was yawning.

She brushed her teeth, thankful for Luke having an extra toothbrush tucked away in his drawers and then crawled into the bed that was kept in the loft above the living room.

“You want me to shift?” He asked her after he was finished in the bathroom, having climbed up the narrow ladder to the loft and she stared at him for a moment.

Oh.

She hadn’t even thought about that.

“Or do you want me to sleep on the couch?” He suggested and she bit her lip. She wanted him to do neither.

She wanted him there with her…for once in his human form.

“Will you stay?” She brought out. “Just like this.”

He slid in the bed beside her, facing her, just like they had done on the floor a few hours before. She cuddled nearer to him immediately, not wanting him to think that she didn’t want him there. Because she did.

She always wanted Luke with her.

He reached out to touch her hair, gently running his fingers over the braid that was an absolute bird’s nest on her head, but she couldn’t help but smile at it.

She leaned forwards, wanting to kiss him and he seemed to have the same thought that she had, slotting his mouth over hers.

For a moment it felt like it always did. She loved kissing him. Loved the feeling of his warm lips on hers, loved how he cupped the back of her head and his fingers curled into her hair and took apart whatever braid she had put in her hair that day.

She loved it when it was just him, just Luke, just his breathing and when her mouth opened how he pressed his tongue into her mouth. He was always gentle with her, always slow and she enjoyed that.

They never had had the time to really… ** _go_** at it for more than a few minutes. Not if they didn’t want to be interrupted by Ollie or by Grace who both seemed to have a special knack for that.

So when he pressed his tongue against her lips this time, requesting entrance and she granted it…Daphne’s hands lifted and pulled him as close to her possible.

She wanted more. She wanted everything.

Luke seemed to take her agreement wholeheartedly, the gentleness that was always apparent turning into something else. Still gentle but also… ** _possessive_** when his tongue plundered her mouth, taking everything she had to give and she gasped against him, her hands buried in his hair.

She never wanted to stop. She pulled him as close to her as it was possible, gasping against him, when his tongue slid along her own. It was a centuries-old dance, but it felt new. Exciting.

One of his hands slipped to her hip, where his thumb had been rubbing circles before, just that now, he was ignoring it, and instead slid his hand over her thigh and down to her knew, pulling it up and over his hip, resulting in Daphne gasping when suddenly, they slid together like puzzle pieces. She could pull him even closer to her, using her leg and she did just that, her own hands, clutching at his shoulders by now, exploring over the soft fabric and feeling his muscles shudder underneath her touches.

That…that feeling of him shuddering just like she did…knowing that he wanted her…that was better for her self esteem than anything else had been.

She slipped her hands underneath the back of his shirt and for a moment he lifted his mouth from hers only to pull his shirt over his head.

Oh.

She hadn’t expected that. But just seeing him like that…only illuminated by the small lamp on the bedside table, his skin posessing a near gold glow, she reached out to touch his shoulder hesitantly, watching his face, waiting for him to tell her to stop.

He didn’t. She could watch the play of his muscles now, not just watch it through that shirt and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder, surprising herself before he pulled her up against himself, against his naked chest. She was unable not to shiver at feeling the expanse of warm, perfect skin under her hands, running her hands over his muscular back while she continued to kiss him.

On of his hands slipped to her hip, underneath her shirt and she shivered when it pushed up, settling between her shoulder blades, tripping over the scars that she knew were littering her back, but choosing to ignore it. He made no other move, only resting his hand there between her shoulder blades and kissing her, again and again, Daphne clinging to him desperately.

She felt heat curl low in her belly, something that she had never felt before in that sense and then, Luke finally lifted his mouth from her, staring at her, pupils blown wide.

“We need to stop,” he told her hoarsely and she could just stare at him.

Stop. She didn’t want to stop. She wanted to continue it and see where it lead her.

“Because if we don’t…we are going to do something we both aren’t ready for,” Luke continued, sounding like he wanted to stop no more than she did.

She kissed him again as an answer, finally pulling back, but not being able to stop herself from running her hands over his back one more time.

“Okay,” she whispered her agreement.

And really, when Daphne bedded her head on Luke’s chest, curling her hand against his naked skin and closing her eyes, she was okay with stopping. There was no rush. No need to rush all of this.

She adored it too much to rush it.


	22. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne and Luke both receive the werewolf version of "The Talk".

**_The People with the best advice are usually the ones who have been through the most._ **

_Anonymous_

Even when Luke had told her that Caroline was alright with her staying overnight…Daphne still somehow felt like she had done something wrong when she came home the next morning.

There was a mixture of ice and water on the grounds and Luke walked her home in his wolf form.

She wondered if she was ever going to get as used to **_this_** as he was.

For Luke being a werewolf was something natural, something he had been born into. Something he **_treasured_**. 

For Daphne…For Daphne, it was a supernatural thing that was weird and painful and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it.

Luke hadn’t pressured her once about what she should do about the wolf lurking beneath her skin. He had only asked her that once if she wanted to shift and had accepted her desire to wait. If Daphne ever wanted to shift now that…she had the option.

Sometimes she felt terrified about the prospect. And other times…like this, with Luke next to her, the big black wolf’s ear twitching and checking out the forest around them…then Daphne wondered if she didn’t want to be with him like that as well.

Sometimes Daphne wondered if she could feel the wolf lurking underneath the surface. If that was what she was feeling when the heat unfurled in her chest as it did sometimes when Luke was close to her.

She scratched Luke behind his ears when she reached the front door, smiling at him.

“You’ll come over later?” She asked him softly and he nodded his agreement, stepping back and waiting until she had unlocked the door before he darted back into the forest.

She looked at him for a moment, suddenly wondering what she was going to look like if she ever shifted. Would she be a similar black colour like him? Or look something completely different? Was it hereditary?

Daphne didn’t let herself end that thought, slipping off her shoes and her jacket and hanging it up in the hallway.

“Daphne?” Her aunt’s voice came from the kitchen and Daphne stepped through, finding her baking, which was a rare thing.

Cecilia Schuyler was the standard baker in their near circles of friends and acquaintances, always sending Grace and Luke to school with cookies and muffins and pies. And they were always great.

“Christmas Cookies,” Caroline asked the unasked question. “You can help me decorate them later if you want to.

For a moment Daphne was frozen in her spot, staring at the gingerbread men that were taking shape.

She never had…done that beforehand. **_Ever_**.

Michelle hadn’t baked and later when Daphne had maybe been old enough to do it on her own, making gingerbread cookies had been at the very bottom of things to do.

She never even had eaten one.

“Everything okay, Honey?” Caroline asked her gently and Daphne nodded.

“Yes. Everything is great,” she brought out. _Gingerbread Men_. Why were they the thing that ended up reminding her of her mother?

Daphne took a seat at the kitchen island, Caroline pushing a bowl with the offcuts nearer to her.

“You can eat some of the ones that didn’t look right,” Caroline winked at her and Daphne just shook her head but picked out a misshapen gingerbread cookie, taking a bite.

It tasted good. Perfect even. The flavour burst into her mouth and Daphne wondered how many other things there were that she had never gotten to taste because they hadn’t been able to afford them.

She took another cookie when she finished the first, staring at it for a moment.

Caroline had moved on to put the next batch in the oven and then washed her hands before she moved towards the counter and finally places a single yellow post it before Daphne.

A time and date were on that and Daphne’s eyebrows furrowed when she had no idea what that was.

“An appointment. Monday. At an OB/Gyn,” Caroline told her evenly and Daphne flushed a dull red. Oh god. Oh god.

She dared to look at her aunt, expecting anger but Caroline just smiled at her.

“I am not going to kill you, Honey,” Caroline said softly. “It’s okay. Nobody is angry at you.I would prefer to teach you how to swim rather than have you drown.”

The drowning part probably was an unwanted pregnancy then.

“Fertility Issues are rare for our kind. And most types of hormonal birth control don’t work either for us. We tend to shed that like water,” Caroline explained resolutely.

“Luke and I didn’t…” Daphne brought out, trying to make her aunt understand that they hadn’t…they hadn’t done anything but kissing.

“I know,” Caroline agreed immediately. “Apart from the fact that there is no new bite mark on your neck, everybody would have been able to smell it.”

“Does…sex and mating always go hand in hand?” Daphne questioned hesitantly and Caroline shook her head.

“No. Not always. But in your case? I would expect it to do. You are both in the throes of puberty. Luke has a tight grip on his wolf, but it’s not…definite. Especially not as far as you are concerned. His wolf has accepted you as his mate and if the opportunity would present itself…I don’t think that Luke would be able to refuse if you bared your neck to him.” Something to keep in mind then. No neck baring…not when Daphne could help it.

She wondered if it was an alpha thing. She had no idea what it actually meant that Luke would one day be the alpha of the Schuyler Pack, she suddenly realised. She needed to learn that. She needed to learn that quickly if she didn’t want to embarrass him and she didn’t want **_that_**.

“Lucille, Kiana’s Mum, she found a few things that seem to work quite well for our kind,” Caroline continued. “I made you an appointment with her. She’ll have you squared away with some birth control shots.

“Thank you,” Daphne thanked softly. And she was thankful. Very thankful in fact.

“Of course,” Caroline hummed softly.

“Daphne,” her aunt said, waiting until she looked up at her. “Wait until you are ready. Luke is not going to be angry at you for refusing him.”

She nodded her agreement at that and Caroline smiled at her.

“Good, now that’s that taken care of …let’s do some cookie decorating.” She couldn’t help but smile at that, but happily helped pipe faces and buttons on the gingerbread men who looked quite good, if Daphne could say so herself.

Ollie came down a few minutes later and by the time lunch rolled around both of them had eaten far too many gingerbread cookies and icing but they were laughing at Ollie’s try to decorate one gingerbread man that now looked like it had sprouted tentacles.

It was far more family time than Daphne had ever gotten before. And she enjoyed every moment of it.

***

 _*You already gave me the talk once, DAD!!*_ Luke exclaimed mentally, doing his best to get far, far away from his father. His father was sadly not having any of that, and in response to that, grabbed his unruly son by the scruff at the neck like he had used to do when he had still been a wolf cub.

He was unceremoniously dragged bag towards his father and while Luke was pretty sure that he way a physical match for him, his father would probably still kick his ass.

He should probably have expected that there was an ulterior motive when his father had asked him to go on a run with him on a Sunday evening. 

_*You weren’t in a relationship with your mate then,*_ his father gave back, sounding amused.

God this was uncomfortable. Yesterday he had been decisively amused by Daphne stuttering and blushing bright red when she had mentioned to him that she had a doctor’s appointment courtesy of Caroline.

Luke couldn’t blame her and to be honest,he was quite thankful about it. Daphne needed somebody to give her some information about matings and claiming and he wasn’t sure if he was the best source on that matter.

 _*Sit down,*_ his father told him drily and Luke did as ordered but was decisively looking everywhere but his father.

 _*Do we need to do this?*_ He tried to get out of it one final time but his father just snorted.

 _*Yes, we do. No relationship that you had until this point will be able to compare to being with Daphne. Both sexually and platonically, but you know that,*_ his father said seriously. _*She’s your_ ** _mate_** _. If all goes well then she is the woman you will marry and make a life with, Lucas.*_

He knew that. God, he hoped for that future. He wanted nothing more but that future, the idea to come home to Daphne and whatever family they would make one day. Their children. Their lives intertwined together.

They hadn’t talked about it yet, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t on Luke’s mind. He thought about it sometimes, when he watched over her while she slept, when he saw both the child that she had once been and the woman that she was becoming.

 _*She will be your strongest weakness…and your biggest strength. A pack is only as strong as the Alpha’s mate,*_ his father continued _. *Daphne has the potential to be everything you could possibly want if you give your relationship the room to grow and nurture it.*_

Didn’t he know that?

 _*I love her.*_ Luke finally admitted softly, his claws burying into the soft forest ground. _*I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. I didn’t…*_ He hadn’t planned on that. He hadn’t expected it to be already there, the feelings for her. But it had been like a switch had been flipped for him since he had first laid eyes on Daphne. And now that he got to know her…now that he got to spend time with, got to kiss her and hold her…he couldn’t imagine spending another day where he couldn’t do that.

He looked up at his father, who seemed more amused by his admission than anything else.

 _*You aren’t even surprised,*_ Luke said drily and his father just sighed.

 _*I am not,*_ he answered. _*You always wanted a mate, Luke. It makes sense that you are all in on that relationship already. Daphne, however, is not. She needs more time.*_

Luke wanted to protest that, wanted to start snapping that his father was wrong but he was silenced with a look from amber eyes.

_*Luke, I know you don’t like to hear it. But her complete life turned upside down a few months ago. She lost the only parent she had. And yes, her mother abused her. But that doesn’t make it easier for her. It just makes it even more difficult. And while it’s obvious that she is dealing with all of that to the best of her ability, she is not completely alright. She is still far from that, to be honest.*_

_*She_ ** _clearly_** _adores you,*_ his father continued, gently looking at him. _*She enjoys being with you. You make her happy. You are probably one of the few people that make her this happy. Don’t pressure her to make a declaration of love. She isn’t ready for that.*_

Luke wanted her to be ready for that. But he took the advice to heard. He wouldn’t tell her. Not yet. They weren’t ready yet. He would give Daphne as much time as she needed.

 _*She’ll need time. Give both of you time. You are still young. You’ll figure it out,*_ his father told him softly. _*On that note…New Years is coming up.*_

Which meant that there annual…pack meeting if one could call it yet also came up. It happened every New Years Eve at their house and Luke’s mother, as usual, was already starting to get a bit crazy.

It was a fancy party, where the adults talked and the kids were required to make small talk with the younger werewolves of other packs. It also worked as a bit of a mixer for younger werewolves to maybe find their mates. It was hit or miss but they had some success.

Some of the more traditional packs discouraged mating with a human as it was a hit or miss if the child was born a werewolf or not. These were the same packs that also encouraged procreating with a fellow werewolf if one did choose to mate with a human, something that Luke had always just found crassly inappropriate. 

_*I would like Daphne to attend. At your side. So you need to ask her if you haven’t yet,*_ his father told him and Luke shook his head.

 _*I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dad,*_ he disagreed _. *She’s ill at ease with werewolves at best and terrified what she could become at most. She still hasn’t shifted. And you_ ** _know_** _how some of them can get.*_

 _*You have my full permission to be as much of an asshole as you need to be to get them to back off. I won’t have either of you questioned about your relationship. She is your mate and they better respect that, even without an obvious claiming bite,*_ his father snorted. _*Do you know why she is still hesitant about shifting?*_

 _*No. She doesn’t talk about it. I didn’t push her either though. She’s trying to push the wolf down. But I think there will come a time where she can’t do that anymore…and that is going to end badly,*_ Luke admitted darkly.

 _*I agree…I wonder if you did actually change her when you bit her,*_ his father considered thoughtfully and Luke’s head snapped up at this.

 _*_ **_What_ ** _exactly do you mean?* he questioned harshly and his father sighed._

 _*If her mother took drugs throughout the pregnancy…and there was a mate bond rotting away, Daphne’s wolf could have been buried deep even before she was born. Matthew posed that question because…her scars are littering her body, Luke, but there seems to be no permanent damage. The question is if a human would have survived her mother,*_ his father said and once more, Luke wanted to rip Michelle Emerson apart in a thousand little pieces.

 _*We’ll never know the truth, will we?*_ Luke sighed. He would never know for sure if he had been the one changing her or if it had always slumbered within her and he had just been the last thing it needed to wake fully.

 _*No, it was just a theory. But maybe something she should think about. If she starts seeing her wolf as something that had always protected her and not as a burden,*_ his father told him leadenly. _*If there is anything I can to do to put her mind at rest, let me know, Luke. Shifting could help her. In more ways than one. Her wolf could finally settle down completely._

 _*I will ask her,*_ Luke finally agreed. _*Can I ask a question, Dad?Actually, two.*_

 _*Of course, Son,*_ his father agreed immediately.

For a moment Luke wondered how he should best explain it before he settled on just saying it.

 _*It’s…I feel like I have skin hunger,*_ he admitted softly. _*I want to touch Daphne. A lot. It’s. ..It’s like I itch if I haven’t held her for a few days. It’s better if I get to hold her for an extended time.*_

 _*Then you should take care that you get that opportunity,*_ his father told him drily. _*Take the time you need. It’s important Luke. It’s nothing that is going to stop until you have completed a mating bond. Right now, your bond is fledging… Your bond grows through physical contact._ ** _Especially_** _when it has a sexual component to it,*_ Stephen Schuyler pointedly commented and Luke looked everywhere but his father.

 _*We were just kissing,*_ Luke mumbled embarrassed and he could feel his father’s amusement bleed through their conversations.

Feelings were a bit hit or miss with the mental communications of werewolves. The closer the connection to one’s conversation partner the better it seemed to work most of the time.

 _*That’s_ ** _more_** _than enough,*_ his father told him drily. _*When she bares her neck to you, don’t be startled when it happens. You are her mate, but you are also her_ ** _Alpha_** _. She will submit to you when the time comes. You wolf will_ ** _require_** _it.*_

Luke swallowed at that, his mouth suddenly dry. The idea of that obvious gesture of submission from Daphne.

 _*And the other question?*_ Her father interrupted him staring around in space and he went back to the question he wanted to ask.

 _*I don’t want to hurt her. When we mate, I don’t…*_ Luke whispered. He couldn’t hurt her. Not like that. Not like…

 _*You won’t,*_ his father told him, his voice certain but Luke protested.

_*You don't know that.*_

_*You never hurt a single human girl you were with,*_ His father told him with a raised eyebrow. _*And humans are a lot more breakable than werewolves._

 _*They didn’t smell like her!*_ Luke snapped. _*Their scent wasn’t like freaking_ ** _catnip_** _to me, dad. I have problems controlling myself when I am just_ ** _kissing_** _her. I never knotted with any of these human girls either.*_

 _*Wouldn’t it be_ ** _wolfnip_** _?*_ his father wondered with a laugh before he grew serious again. _*You are both throwing off_ ** _a lot_** _of pheromones so I wouldn’t worry that you are the only one going a bit crazy. And the knotting…you will most certainly knot with her, but it won’t hurt her. She’s a werewolf as well, so that…that opens things up for you a bit. She can take your strength if you are a bit rough with her,*_ his father advised him calmly. _*Just be as gentle as you can and make it as good for her as possible.*_

***

Daphne wondered if her cheeks would ever take on their normal colour ever again.

Caroline had dragged her to see the OB/GYN on Monday afternoon and after Daphne had gotten a shot that needed to be renewed every 3 months and got a lecture about werewolves and mating and claiming bites, she couldn’t look at Luke without blushing beet red.

Biting. Knotting. **_Claiming_**.

This was just getting a whole lot kinkier than she anticipated.

And really, Luke was not making it any better when he had been even more tactile than usual that day.

Somehow she got through that day, even when she was pretty sure that Kiana was laughing at her all the whole time and got to go home, where homework was waiting for her.

Grace and Ollie were in his room giving her and Luke “privacy” as much as that was possible.

“Are you gonna tell me why you aren’t looking at me?” He asked her drily and she could feel the blood rush into her cheeks once again.

“I got an injection that needs to be repeated every 3 months. Apparently, it’s supposed to work on werewolves. Which is great, because I don’t think I want to have a baby in Highschool,” she started babbling. “And I got a whole talk about knotting and biting. And now I am thinking if you have made some primitive claim about breeding rights since I am smelling like you all the time. And that’s apparently a huge warning sign for most other werewolves.And I should probably stop talking.” Daphne continued and then snapped her jaw shut.

“Hey,” Luke reached out for her to tip up her chin and then looked at her with an apologetic smile. “It’s a bit of a primitive claim to breeding rights,” he admitted drily. “No other wolf is going to think that you are available when you smell like me.”

“Is that a problem?” She brought out, her mouth suddenly dry and he nodded.

“You are a young, beautiful and fertile female werewolf. Our population is small and breeding is **_always_** a concern. If I weren’t your mate, then yes, there would be a lot of other werewolves that would be interested in spending time with you or even something more, Daphne,” he told her honestly. “My smell is a glaring red flag to every other male to keep away from you.”

“Why?” She asked him softly and he looked at her for a moment.

“I am the next Alpha. If it was a werewolf from the area they would recognise it immediately and know that you are mine. And not a lot would go against my express wishes,” Luke explained softly. “With that role…there come power and responsibility. One day it will be my job to keep our existence a secret from humans and to make all the members of our pack toe the line.”

“We can be quite…primitive in a sense,” he told her, one corner of his mouth quirking up and she needed to stare at him for a moment.

“With the biting…and _knotting,”_ she repeated weakly and he sighed.

“How terrified are you?” He asked her seriously. “I am not going to hurt you, Daphne. Not if I can help it. The knot is not huge. It’s…a biological imperative more than anything else.” He reached out to cup her cheek and she leaned into the touch, ignoring the way her heart fluttered in her chest.

“Because your wolf wants to breed me to make sure that there is a future alpha,” she surmised and he made an agreeing noise.

“Did it ever happen with another girl that you were with?” She asked him hesitantly not looking at him. She didn’t know if she wanted to know. He didn’t say anything for a moment and she started to apologise. She shouldn’t have asked him that…“I am sorry, I just…”

“It’s fine, Daphne,” Luke interrupted her gently. “I have two ex-girlfriends. Haley was the last one. And before that there was Charlotte. She moved to Los Angeles with her parents,”he told her easily. “I knotted with neither.”

“But you expect us to…” she waved her hand between the two of them, not bringing the words over her lips. Because the idea of… ** _that_** was freaking her out.

“I do. We are mates. We are very compatible,” he answered gently.

“Do you have any more questions?” He asked her and she shrugged, averting her gaze.

“I…I am scared of the whole biting thing,” she finally blurted out. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You already got your teeth in me once, sweetheart,” he told her, amusement glinting in his eyes and she stared at him wide-eyed.

“I did not!” She protested incredulously but he just raised an eyebrow.She hadn’t! She would remember that!

“You had your teeth in my shoulder when Matthew took care of your leg,” he gave back with a shake of his head. “We couldn’t dislodge you for more than half an hour.”

Daphne could feel herself blush scarlet red once more and just groaned in embarrassment. At least that explained why she didn’t remember it. “I feel like I should apologise,” she mumbled but Luke just chuckled.

“It’s alright. It didn’t even hurt after it was done.” He shrugged it off. “Claiming bites…they are different,” he told her gently, his hand gently slipping from her cheek down to her neck. “They are always done on the right side of the neck,” Luke explained, gently sweeping her hair away from her neck and Daphne reacted with leaning her head to the side, giving him free access. She couldn’t help but stare at him, breath coming in shallow when she felt his big hands on her like that. He reacted with a smile, gently touching the side of her neck, right were neck and shoulder met. She had a scar there, one that she knew Luke had given her when he had bitten her in his wolf form. But he rubbed his thumb there for a moment, staring at her.

For a moment it was just the two of them, their eyes meeting before Luke finally pulled his gaze away.

“Perhaps there,” he cleared his throat. “I’ll bite you. You’ll bit me. It won’t hurt for more than a few minutes as most, I promise. A bond forms…it’s…it’s an empathic link in a way. My parents feel what the other feels…their feeling pour all over the bond. I want that for us as well,” he told her earnestly and she could just nod. Having a piece of Luke with her all the time…that sounded perfect.

“When the time is right for us…we will mate,” Luke told her softly. “There is no pressure, Daphne. We’ll do it when we are both ready.” She nodded her agreement at that, wondering when she would feel ready to take that next step with him.

“And now…I have a question to ask as well,” he told her, smiling at her.

“My family throws this…ball every year for all the members of our pack. It’s on New Years Eve. I know it's the day before your birthday…” How did he know that? Daphne had never told him that.

“Will you come with me?” Luke asked her, looking at her hopeful and smiling and she could just stare at him. Oh. Oh god. A ball. With members of the werewolf pack that Luke was one day supposed to be Alpha off.

"Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want to embarrass you,” she questioned, her voice hesitant. “What if I do something wrong?”

“There is nothing you could possibly do to embarrass me,” Luke gave back, looking her straight in the eyes. “You are my mate. And they will get used to that.”

“Will you come with me, Daphne?” He asked her again, taking her hands in his. “Please?” He added, looking at her with these ridiculous green eyes and she swallowed.

She couldn’t tell him no. Not without hurting him. And a part of her…a part was giddy at the idea of a ball and a fancy dress, something she never had an opportunity to wear before.

“Yes, I’ll go with you,” she agreed softly. She would go with him. And she would do everything in her power not to embarrass him.

“Good,” he answered, leaning down to brush a kiss to her lips.

“I am sure Grace is going to want to help you pick out a dress,“ he said, a grin on his face and Daphne giggled softly. Grace was the resident fashionista of the family and while she was just as at home in old jeans and a sweater, she was the one who happily read every issue of Vogue she could get her hands on.

“Grace does,” Luke’s sister agreed happily as she entered the room, Ollie in tow. “I need a new one as well. We can make a girls day out of it, ask Kiana to come as well.”

“That sounds amazing. I still need to get some Christmas presents.” Daphne agreed happily.

“And thankfully we don’t need to come along, right?” Ollie asked, making puppy dog eyes at his mate who just raised an eyebrow.

“Who is going to carry our bags then?” Grace questioned completely seriously, making Ollie open his mouth a few times before she took pity of him.

“No, of course not, I would like to keep my dress a secret,” Grace told her mate with a grin. “You can go do something else. I am sure you and Luke can come up with something.”


	23. Chapter 18

**_The marks humans leave are too often scars._ **

_John Green_

“Any colour preferences?” His sister asked him over breakfast on that Saturday and he just stared at her.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Gracie,” he admitted freely. Colour Preference? For **_what_**?

Most of the time Luke couldn’t care less which colour something was and when Daphne started talking about colour theory or mixing her own paint with pigments…then he was lost.

He liked watching her do that, but he never offered any advice because he had no knowledge about that and he was man enough to admit that.

Thankfully at least Daphne’s obsession with painting had given him the idea to what he wanted to give her for Christmas.

He was still lost what he wanted to give her for her birthday, which was on New Year’s Day, but at least her Christmas present was all finished. He still had two more weeks until her birthday so that was good…still, it was driving him nuts.

Nobody in his family had been very helpful either.

“For Daphne’s dress. For the New Year’s Ball,” she clarified with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously, you guys are hopeless. Ollie told me to pick what I **_liked_** ,” his sister snorted like that was the worst thing he could have said.

Right. Grace, Kiana and Daphne were going to Augusta to buy Christmas presents and dresses for the New Year’s Ball, and Daphne had looked forward to that for days now.

She had never before gotten the opportunity to go shopping with friends so she was giddy with excitement and had smiled at him so brightly that morning that it had felt like the sun was rising in her room.

It had been startling to see once again how many of the things that Grace and he thought were normal were something strangely novel to Daphne. From takeout pizza or ice cream or to come home and have their mother ask them how school went…all of it was something that Daphne had never experienced before.

She didn’t talk about it. She didn’t need to. Her face expression was evidence enough that Daphne had never had this before.

But about the colour…Luke could honestly say that he had no preference. Daphne would look beautiful in whatever she chose. And as long as she felt comfortable in it, which was the most important thing, Luke couldn’t care less.

“Daphne is the colour expert,” Luke answered diplomatically instead. “I am sure she already has some ideas.”

“She did mention something about pine green. I think we can all guess what that was inspired by,” his sister said drily. Pine Green? What could have inspired _that_?

“The forest?” He asked dumbly, which resulted in his mother laughing and his sister rolling her eyes.

“Yes, I am sure it’s the **_forest_** , Luke,” Grace told him sarcastically. So **_not_** the forest. He looked to his father for help, who just shrugged in response.

“Your eyes, Luke,” his mother finally took pity of him with a laugh.

 _Oh_.

“Purple.” It suddenly burst out from him. He had never seen her in purple. And he wanted to. Something in the same startling violet shade of her eyes.

“And that’s not inspired by her eye colour at all,” Grace said with a wink and he just shrugged non-apologetic. Sue him. He wanted to see his mate in a dress that matched her eyes.

He loved her eyes, after all, loved how they were the strange colour that he had never seen before…or had he? Sometimes he did think he had seen them before, he just couldn’t place them. They were beautiful though, looking at him with a happy sheen when he had done something to warrant that.

And then other times, they darkened when they had kissed, her eyes taking on a shade more similar to amethyst and no longer lilacs than they usually were.

“Your grandmother’s amethyst set could be a good match with a purple dress,” his father commented absentmindedly. “She did leave them to you after all,” he said pointedly. It was an obvious hint to Luke.

He knew why.

His grandmother’s, Marie Schuyler’s jewellery collection, amassed throughout her life, was a bit of a town legend. She had been a magpie, adoring everything that glittered. Luke had ended up with a small pile of jewellery, most of it with semi-precious stones and interesting cuts.

Some of it was outlandish. Some of it was beautiful.

The amethyst set his father commented on had been an ongoing tradition between her and Luke’s grandfather after which he had been named.

Marie had been born in February and Amethyst was her birthstone which her husband had first used in her engagement ring and then in a collection of jewellery that was given to her throughout their marriage to celebrate the births of their children and to anniversaries.

Only now, Luke remembered the ring that he knew laid safely in his father’s safe. One day…One day it would _hopefully_ be on Daphne’s hand.

He shook his head, dislodging the thoughts that he knew were wishful dreams if anything and instead concentrated on the present.

Putting a piece from that set on Daphne would be nearly as good as a claiming bite for most of the people in the room, making it **_very_** clear who her mate was and who belonged to Daphne.

And Luke couldn’t find a fault in that. He wondered quietly if she would.

He could hear Ollie’s car approach and he wasn’t surprised to find his sister jumping up.

“I think that’s my call to go,” Grace said with a grin. “I’ll be back in the afternoon…depending on how quick we are.”

“Be careful,” Luke told her, which resulted in a roll of her eyes.

“I promise there is not going to a single bruise on her,” Grace promised him gently. “She can take care of herself.”

He knew that. That didn’t mean that he didn’t worry.

“Have fun!” Her mother said with a smile and Grace darted out of the kitchen, probably to greet her mate.

It took less time than he thought until Ollie came into the kitchen, brightly smiling.

“Good Morning!” Ollie exclaimed. “Ready to go running through the forest with a hoard of 10-year-olds?” He asked him and Luke sighed.

They tried to get most of the smaller children together on weekends to go on runs. And this weekend it just so happened to have been given to Ollie and him as a job.

It didn’t bother Luke, not really, it could be **_quite_** amusing.

(And surprisingly **_bloody_** …like the times with the chickens. There was to hope that he wouldn’t need to stop any of the younger members of the pack from hunting rabbits this time, but somehow he didn’t hold out much hope for it.)

“I’ll go hide some chew toys in a few moments. Maybe they do better with a fresh scent,” he suggested, the doubt obvious in his voice but Ollie just laughed.

“Not all of them are going to be as good at tracking as you are,” Ollie replied. “But let’s get going. It’s always fun.”

As usual, Thalia, the youngest wolf in their immediate family was Luke’s small brown shadow, a similar russet brown shade to her older sister. She was still quite small for her age and Luke preferred her not to be caught in the fray even when she was a fierce fighter if it came down to it. She had bit the heck out of a teenager the last time they had tried to take a chew toy from her.

She was also already better than some of the High School Freshman and figuring out where to find one of the chew toys and had victoriously emerged from the forest after three minutes, carrying a bright orange plastic bone that she was now happily chewing while laying on the forest ground.

 _*Luke!*_ she exclaimed dismayed when he swiped at the bright orange plastic bone in front of her, baring her teeth at him. She was maybe a quarter of his size, a little furball that didn’t really look scary as much as adorable and that they all loved to tease.

* _Come on, Thali, don’t you want to share?*_ He teased her, but she just growled at him, protecting the orange chew toy and he backed off, letting her win.

 _*Is Daphne going to come run with us soon?*_ She asked him suddenly and suddenly Luke’s brain was empty when he tried to come up with an answer for that.

 _*Your mate, Luke,”_ Ollie told him, mentally laughing at him and Luke just rolled his eyes.

 _*Well, that depends if she wants it. She hasn’t shifted yet,*_ Luke answered honestly. It was best to just tell Thalia the truth. Lest she was going to get out her interrogation skills that according to his uncle were **_“better than the CIA most of the time”_**.

* _Why?*_ Thalia still asked and Luke sighed softly.

 _*She wasn’t born a werewolf like you were, Thali. So if she shifts its gonna be the very first time and she is a bit scared of that,*_ Luke explained, trying to keep it at least a bit children safe. Thalia’s head cocked to the side when she considered it.

 _*You should tell her that it’s fun,*_ she told him decisively.

 _*You think that is gonna change her mind?*_ he asked Thalia amused but she nodded with all the trust in the world.

_*She can go running with you! And go find chew toys with me!*_

For a moment his cousin stayed quiet, obviously thinking about something else.

 _*Are you going to protect her?*_ she finally whispered. _*I heard mummy and daddy talking about…her mummy hurting her…why would anybody hurt Daphne? She’s so nice.*_

For a moment his breathing stopped.

 _*She is my mate, of course, I will protect her. Nobody will ever hurt her again, I promise, Thali,*_ Luke brought out hoarsely. How for God’s sake had Thalia even found out about that?

 _*Why would her mummy hurt her?*_ Thalia questioned, her paws clawing in the ground.

 _*I don’t know Thalia. Her mother was…ill,*_ Luke brought out. He had no want whatsoever to try and explain to his 5-year-old cousin why Daphne’s mother had started to hurt her. Or how she had been addicted to drugs and alcohol. Or how Daphne didn’t talk about her ever. Or how Daphne still flinched away if somebody moved to fast, how he could feel the scars on her body when he touched her.

They made him furious. Every single one of them told the story of another time that somebody had hurt his mate and he hadn’t been able to protect her. He hadn’t been able to protect her for far too long.

 _*If I get the flu I don’t hurt other people!*_ Thalia exclaimed indignantly which resulted in Ollie snorting in dark amusement. Luke looked at him helplessly and he could hear Ollie sigh.

 _*Daphne’s mother had another kind of illness…she gave Daphne the fault for everything that went wrong in her life, even when it wasn’t her fault at all, and so she lashed out,”_ Ollie explained, his voice making it obvious that he was furious about it, but keeping himself on a tight leash. _*Daphne’s mother is dead, so she won’t ever hurt her again. You don’t need to worry.*_

 _*Is Daphne sad about that?*_ Thalia asked them, far too perceptive for her own good.

 _*Of course, she is,”_ Luke answered honestly. _*But you know what makes it better? If you give her lots and lots of hugs.”_

Thalia giggled at that, but at least she let the topic go. At least something.

Sometimes he wondered if there ever was going to be a time where Daphne would talk to him about Michelle Emerson. And other times, he wondered how he was supposed to listen to her recount that trauma without wanting to kill her mother.

Luke wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be ready to have an extended conversation about Michelle Emerson without wanting to kill the woman.

He couldn’t though. She had managed to do that before any of them could get their claws into her. It was an empty justice to him.

***

Daphne had never before went shopping with friends. Mostly because she had neither friends nor money, and so that hadn’t been something she had ever needed to worry about. But now…now suddenly, she had both and she needed a gown for a fancy ball that she was going to attend with her **_boyfriend_** and…

She felt a bit like a child wanting to play dress up, to be honest.

She couldn’t help herself. She was giddy with happiness, unable to stop grinning like a madwoman.

They went to a big department store, somewhere that according to Kiana was where they had found their dresses for the last two years.

Quite soon, Daphne was surrounded by tulle, satin and sequins.

And also completely overwhelmed.

Grace and Kiana both seemed to know exactly what they wanted, knowing exactly what styles would suit them while Daphne was decidedly indecisive.

She had no idea what she should pick. No idea if a bright red one was a good idea, or something pink or blue…

She didn’t like most of the dresses that looked like somebody threw glitter all over them. They were too much. She didn’t want to look like a disco ball.

She just wanted a pretty dress that Luke would find her pretty in and that was…

Grace looked beautiful regardless of which dress she chose to put on. She was tall and thin, her body muscular and athletic from both cheerleading and but simply being a werewolf and Daphne couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous about that.

Grace tried on two dresses and settled on the first. The colour was soft sage green, working perfectly with the near golden skin colour of Grace. Thin straps cupped her shoulders, holding the tight dress to her body, that wrapped around her body with cleverly designed folds. The bodice was embellishment with pearls and stones and sequins, glittering already under daylight. The skirt was slim fitting and had a slit on one side to make walking easier. Grace looked great in it. Elegant and grownup and sexy.

Three words that Daphne would never look, she realised.

Kiana picked just as quickly, a canary yellow dress. It made her beautiful brown skin seemingly glow from within even in the harsh lights of the department store and while the dress had no embellishment in sight it was everything but simple. It was strapless, the bodice strapless and straight at the top. The skirt consisted of different fabrics all the same yellow colour. It should have looked like somebody randomly threw different fabrics around her waist and sewed them on. On Kiana, it looked effortlessly cool.

And Daphne…Daphne still had no idea what she wanted.

“You need something that doesn’t overwhelm you,” Kiana said thoughtfully, going through the rails with the kind of focus that wouldn’t be out of place on a battlefield..

“Your features are quite soft so nothing harsh either,” Grace threw in, holding up a blush pink gown before she hung it back up. “You need something that suits you and not…”

“Here try this on, one,” she threw a blue dress at Daphne, with a floral pattern.

She didn’t even need to close the zipper to know that it was a no. She looked like she wore an antique wallpaper from the 1860s in dress form.

“Maybe not,” Kiana said drily. “We don’t want people to ask if that is her grandmother’s curtain,” she teased Daphne who just rolled her eyes.

Kiana instead tried to talk her into an orange one that made Daphne look like a vampire in need of sleep, her skin tone so ill-suited for it that it prompted to ask Grace if she was alright.

There was a light green one that she quite liked but when she tried it on, it was much too long in both skirt and bodice, the waistline hitting her somewhere near her hip.

“I found it,” Grace exclaimed, shoving an absolute monstrosity of a dress in the changing room that was so big that it took up most of the room.

It was a beautiful plum colour, layers upon layers off tulle. A dress fit for a princess to be honest.

“Are you sure?” Daphne couldn’t help but ask as she touched the ridiculous tulle skirt. “Isn’t that…too much?” She asked hesitantly but Grace shook her head.

“Just try it on, alright?” Grace insisted.

Trying to get it on wasn’t as terrible as she thought it would be. She could thankfully step into it, the tulle holding itself around her body. The skirt was huge, resulting in the tiniest waistline she could possibly have. Tulle sleeves were cupping her shoulders, the front cutaway in a soft sweetheart neckline that made the best of what little breasts she did have.

It was simple, apart from the skirt, nothing that screamed _Look at me!_. And that was what Daphne had wanted.

It was girly, without being childish and she liked to imagine that she actually looked pretty in it. Her eyes seemed to take on the dress colour and she liked how her hair seemed to be even lighter than it usually was.

She stepped out of the dressing room, Grace grinning brightly.

“I am a genius,” Grace exclaimed.

“You are,” Kiana agreed with a laugh. “It looks great, Daphne. I love the skirt.”

“Can one of you close the back? I can’t reach it,” Daphne asked, turning around.

She hadn’t even thought about the scars that everybody that Kiana or Grace would see, to busy letting her hands glide over the tulle of the dress.

It was Kiana’s gasp that made her sharply remember them again, remember how ugly they were, how extensive they were. The dress would hide them, but currently, it didn’t.

“Oh god, Daphne,” Kiana breathed, the quietly uttered words like a hit to her stomach, and Daphne turned back around her hands going to pull the dress together, to hide the scars so that nobody would see them.

“Daphne,” Grace said softly, “It’s alright, come on, let me close the dress up,” Grace told her, a wan smile on her face, but Daphne could feel her hands shake when she zipped up the dress easily.

It hid the scars, nothing more to see, but that didn’t stop Kiana from staring at her with big brown eyes, her eyes seemingly so much bigger than usual.

“I…they don’t hurt anymore, do they?” Kiana asked her, her voice breaking. “I mean…”

“I don#t want to talk about it,” Daphne pressed out. She didn’t, she didn’t…she couldn’t.”

Kiana opened her mouth back up but Grace interrupted her before she could say something, making Daphne’s stomach flood with thankfulness.

“Kiana,” Grace words were soft. “Let’s get them paid for and wrapped up.

Daphne couldn’t get that out of her head, even when she had paid for the dress and they were driving back to Fairbury. She still saw Kiana’s shocked expression, still saw how her friend had stared at the scars.

She knew that her scars were extensive. Even werewolf healing hadn’t been able to stop them from forming.

They were all over her back, mostly hidden by her clothing but they were there. She knew that.

And when Luke and she ever…ever moved on to do something that involved less clothing then he was going to see them as well. And that was making her terrified.

What if he thought that her scars were ugly? What if that visible reminder of her…her trauma was the thing that pushed him over the edge and made him decide that she wasn’t worse the hassle after all?

She couldn’t help it when the first tear run over her cheek.

“Daphne?” Kiana’s voice came from the front. “Daphne? What’s wrong?” Her friend asked her gently but she could just shake her head, her hands pressed over her mouth, trying to starve down the sobs that wanted to escape her.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Kiana told her, reaching behind herself to pat Daphne’s knee the only part of her she could reach. “What’s wrong?”

“I am sorry,” Daphne brought out, a sob pressing out of her, even when she tried to swallow it back.

“I have no idea for what you are sorry, but okay,” Kiana told her, desperately trying to keep her voice light.“It’s gonna be alright. We should be home in a few minutes, do you want me to call Luke?”

Luke?

Did she want Luke?

Right at that moment, she wanted nothing else but to curl herself up against his neck and cry. At least until he decided that he didn’t want her after all.

“Yes, please.”

***

When his phone had rung and Kiana had only snapped that he should wait for them in front of the house, he hadn’t expected to have his hands full of a crying Daphne the moment the car door opened. She threw herself at him, her whole body vibrating with sobs and he had no idea what was up with that now.

“Hug her, you idiot,” Grace hissed and he did just that, pressing a kiss to her blonde hair, his hands touching her to see if physically something was wrong with her.

His wolf was on full alert, wanting to have an enemy, something that he could turn against to see what made Daphne cry like that. Tiny little kitten cries escaping her throat, her head pressed against his chest.

There was no smell of blood anywhere. Just the scent of bitter fear and anxiety, her heart thrumming in her chest like a hummingbird as she clenched her hands in his shirt desperately.

He lifted her, mouthing a thank you to Grace and Kiana and carried her around the house towards his house. For a moment he wondered where to go, thinking about the couch or his bed and finally settled on the latter, getting her up in the loft space and gently setting her down. She was still crying, even when he pulled her to sit on his lap so that he could hold her and breath in her scent.

Physically she was fine. Her scent was still drenched with fear and pain and he knew that something had triggered that. He just didn’t know what.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered, pressing a dry kiss against her forehand, when her whole body was still vibrating against him, shaking with sobs that she clearly tried to hold back and was failing terribly. He rubbed her back, feeling the spine through the thing shirt she wore. He was once again reminded of how ridiculously fragile she was. There was still no fat on her, only skin and bones and even when he knew that she had gained some weight it still wasn’t enough.

He had observed her eating habits, knowing that she never ate a lot. Not enough for a werewolf that burned around 5000 calories a day just walking around. And while her calories burned were probably going to be lower, as she hadn’t yet shifted…she was still not eating enough for her size. Hell, Thalia ate more half of the time.

He pushed that out of his mind when she sobbed again, her hands fisted in his shirt, trying desperately to keep a hold of him. Luke only gently detached it to help her out of her parka, deciding that this couldn’t be comfortable for him and her eyes opened, looking at him with terror.

“Shhh, sweetheart, just your parka,” he soothed her. “I’ll just want you more comfortable. She let him help, tears still running over her face and her movements jerky when she curled up even tighter on his lap and he slipped off her shoes, before doing the same himself.

He got them both to lay on the bed, Daphne still keeping a near stranglehold on his shirt and he let her, just wanting her to feel like he was there. He caressed her hair, he rubbed her back, making shushing noises, hoping and waiting for the sobs to finally die down. They became less frequent until finally she just laid there, eyes empty, but still tears running over her face.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered, his hand pressing her to himself a bit tighter, unable not to let a bit more of Alpha bleed into his voice.

She shook her head, more tears building in her eyes but he had enough. He needed to know. He cupped her face in his hands, making her meet his eyes and repeated himself one more time.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Daphne,” he asked, his voice making it obvious that it wasn’t just a request. He wondered if she would fight the order or if there was a part of her that respected her as his alpha enough to…he got his answer a moment later when it felt like she was shuddering again him.

“It was fine,” she brought out, her voice quiet and shaky. “Everything was fine. We drove to Augusta and then we went looking for a dress…and I found one I liked…and then I asked Kiana to zip up up the back and…and I was so stupid, Luke.”

He needed a moment until he understood what she was getting at. The scars. He had only seen them when she had been hurt. He had touched them once, feeling them underneath his fingertips, a crisscross of welts and scars that covered her back but he hadn’t…he hadn’t even thought about it. And neither had Daphne, who was sobbing again.

“Did Kiana say something to you?” He asked carefully, unable to imagine that. Kiana wouldn’t.

“She just stared at them,” Daphne brought out. “Like they were…”

Another sob interrupted her and he growled gently, enveloping her in his arms. He couldn’t even fault Kiana for that. Not really. His cousin probably had been shocked and hadn’t even thought about how Daphne would take that.

“She never saw your scars before she probably was just startled,” Luke tried to soothe her but the sobs continued.

“They are disgusting!” Daphne sobbed out, her voice breaking.

It was the last thing he had expected

Oh.

“Daphne they aren’t,” he immediately tried to soothe her. His whole was growling in annoyance, unable to help his overwrought mate and Luke made another attempt to soothe her, gently rocking them back and forth. 

“How can you even stand to look at me?” She asked him, staring at him with these violet eyes, tears running down his cheeks and he could just stare back. His hesitation as he had no idea what to tell her was enough of an answer to her and she just started sobbing up again.

Another growl from his wolf and Luke pressed a kiss against her temple.

“I don't care about your scars,” he told Daphne fiercely, hugging her as tightly as he possibly could when he felt her shatter. "I don’t care,” he repeated gently.

“You haven't even seen them,” Daphne whimpered, shaking her head, tears still running over her face.

**_“Then show me.”_ **

The words were out of his mouth before he could regret them and she stared at him.

And then her hands were shaking when she turned around, turning her back towards him, pulling the grey sweater she wore over her head.

The first thing he saw was the expanse of pale ivory skin on display. Free of clothing, there for him to touch. Only then he saw the scars, extensively running from her shoulders down over the small of her back.

He didn’t expect it when she reached behind her, unclasping the white bra she wore, letting him see **_everything_**.

Her body seemed to vibrate with nerves and fear, the air around them thick with it all.

A criss-cross of scars, some deep, some not so deep, the skin mottled in some places, not so in others.

Oh god.

Somehow seeing them healed and in their scar form was so much worse than when her skin had been bruised black and blue by Kyle. Suddenly it reminded him that this was something that Daphne would need to live with for the rest of her life.

He wanted to reach out and touch. He wanted to tell her that they weren’t ugly, that they just showed everybody how strong she was.

She had **_survived_**.

It were empty words, not good enough for what she deserved.

He couldn’t help but wonder how old Daphne had been when she had received the first of these scars. 4? 7? 12?

Too fucking young, that was for sure.

He couldn’t help but wonder in how much pain she had been on a daily base. How much it had physically hurt and how much it had hurt emotionally to have her mother inflict this pain onto her for **_punishments_**.

Daphne couldn’t have possibly done anything that warranted a punishment like that.

He wanted to kill Michelle Emerson at that moment. He wanted to bath in her blood to be completely honest. To take retribution. To protect his mate.

He would kill to protect Daphne. He knew that. It was in his DNA. There was a reason why a lot of werewolves ended in the military or various government agencies. Werewolves were good with danger and violence. They were animals at heart. Protecting their pack, their mate, their family. That was the most important thing for them.

And he couldn’t protect her for this.

She had survived years of pain and abuse and now she had escaped that and was worried that he would care about the scars. He didn’t.

They weren’t disgusting. Or even ugly. They were a part of her. And Daphne was beautiful inside and out.

And Luke needed her to know that. To understand that she was his mate.

He was hers. Completely and Utterly. She had him in her small hands and he was at her mercy. And Luke couldn’t find it in himself to care.

He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

***

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. To the one scar that curled up over her shoulder towards her clavicle. She could feel his mouth ghost over her skin and she held her breath, another shaken sob wrenched out of her,not knowing if she was just imagining things.

But she wasn’t.

He pressed another kiss to a place just inches below the first one. Then another one beneath that. She took a shuddering breath.

Another kiss to the right, towards her spine. Another kiss right on her spine, another shaky breath exhaled when suddenly she tried to make sense out of all their things she was feeling in that moment.

There were still tears running over her face. Now they were off relief. Relief that Luke didn’t care.

He pressed another kiss up towards the base of her neck, suddenly his warm breath fanning out all over her back, making her hairs stand up and a heat curl low in her belly.

“They aren’t **_disgusting_** ,” Luke whispered. “You **_survived,_** Daphne. That’s all they are. They show that you survived something other people couldn’t have.” Oh, how she wished she could believe him.

He pushed her forward, and she went. Suddenly she was on her stomach on his bed, her arms at her side and she could feel his weight on her when he continued to press kiss after kiss after kiss to her scars. He didn’t touch them in any other way. He just pressed his lips to them, his hands staying at her side.

She relayed, pulling in a shuddering breath when he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

“They aren’t ugly,” he told her again, another warm breath that suddenly made heat curl low in her belly when he continued, a kiss pressed right at the bottom of her spine. “I don’t care about them,” he promised her, his voice as honest as everything else he had ever told her. Another kiss, another kiss on her spine, a shudder going through her, when he touched another pucker of scar tissue this time, brushing his thumb over it.

“It’s her fault. She did that to you. It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” he whispered and Daphne so wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe all of it. She wanted to believe **_Luke_**.

Another kiss pressed to the small of her back on her right side, a gentle brush of his lips against her skin, Daphne’s breath catching in the back of her throat when she thought…thought she had felt his teeth on her skin for a moment.

A full-body shudder going through her the next time, Luke soothing it away with the touch of the flat of his hand just seconds later, pressing another kiss to the middle of her back.

“Good, Sweetheart,” he praised her, his voice sounding nearly raw.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered against her scarred skin, the words soothing something within her that Daphne couldn’t place, a warmth running through her, pressing up against her chest that Luke’s touch seemed to stroke.

She couldn’t help but whine, when he pressed another kiss against the back of her neck, suddenly aware of how close they were. His bulk was pressing her in the mattress and suddenly heat pressed up against her chest when she recognised how easy it would be for them to…

“Easy, there, sweetheart,” “Luke’s voice was there, warm hands stroking her back. “Don’t wolf out on me like that,” he told her softly. A twinge of fear was there at his words when Daphne suddenly recognised the feeling of wilderness in her chest, feeling her wolf press up against herself. It didn’t hurt. And the wolf also didn’t seem to push to the forefront. If anything, Luke’s gentle touches soothed the beast, retreating until Daphne was suddenly able to breathe again, heat receding but leaving with her another heat that was going nowhere low in her belly.

“Just like that, Daphne,” Luke whispered a kiss pressed against her spine and she shuddered, gasping. She needed **_something_**. 

“I…need…” she brought out, not even sure for what she was asked when Luke’s hands maddeningly continued to touch her.

“What do you need, sweetheart?” He asked her immediately, his touches stopping and she growled in frustration, not wanting him to stop. Really, that was the **_last_** thing she wanted.

She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to continue. Wanted to see where it was going to lead them if they…

“ ** _You_** ,” she whimpered out finally, “I need you.”

For a moment his touch froze but then it was back there.

“Turn around, Daphne,” he told her, his voice gentle and his weight disappeared from her, set tingly next to her so that she could turn to face him.

She couldn’t help but blush, knowing that she was bare to his gaze, but he ignored that. Instead, Luke looked into her face, reaching out to tuck another piece of hair behind her ears when he touched her again.

“Tell me what to do?” He whispered and she reached out for his hand, her own hands shaking when took hold of it, guiding it towards her chest. She didn’t stop looking in his eyes, the pine green eyes soothing her when suddenly his warm skin touched her.

They soothed her, with gentleness and warmth, giving her something to relax into when everything else felt new.

His hand ended right on her breast, her chest shuddering through the far too quick breaths she was taking and Luke didn’t move for a moment. Only then he reached out for her face, pressing a kiss agent her lips.

“Are you sure?” He whispered and she breathed her answer.

“Yes.”

She was sure.

The first time he touched her, really touched her, it felt like he was branding her. His touch was hot but gentle, and she moaned, the sound obscenely loud in the room. Before she could apologise, he was kissing her, swallowing down the next of her moans as he pressed his tongue into her mouth, taking everything that she had to offer.

How he even managed to do all of this at the same time was beyond her, when she clutched on his broad shoulders, gasping when he plundered her mouth. A stark contrast to the gentle exploration, his hands did. He drew circles around her skin, stoking the heat low in her belly.

Daphne gasped, her back arching into his touch when his thumb gently, carefully brushed over her nipple.

A gasp escaped her and he made a soft pleased noise, capturing her mouth in his again.

He turned them, her on back then, Luke slipping effortlessly between her legs when he kept kissing her, his mouth wandering down to her neck. Daphne unable to keep quite, her nails biting in his shoulder, when he made his way down to her throat, her clavicle the swell of her breasts, her breathing coming in short gasps when he continued it.

His mouth closed around her nipple, a wet tongue swiping over the tightened nub when she gasped, suddenly overwhelmed.

She squirmed against him, not quite sure if she wanted him to go on or stop, gasping when she felt him start to suck, pleasure starting at the base of her spine.

“Luke!” She gasped, pulling away from him and he stopped, looking at her.

“Sweetheart, I need some instruction,” he pressed out when she tried to tug him to kiss her again. “Do you want to stop? Or not? Because I am fine with both, but you need to give me some kind of boundaries here, Daphne.”

“I…” She hadn’t even thought about that to be honest.

She couldn’t help but blush when she suddenly recognised that she had been more or less mauling him and he chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek when he slipped off her. She missed his weight near immediately, but he pulled her up so that her chest was pressed to his, naked skin touching naked skin.

That was just as good. Nearly.

She got to catch her breath like that, the heat in her belly slowly subsiding and she knew that if she hadn’t pulled the brakes, neither of them would have until they had been done completely.

Luke brushed his lips over her hair, tucking her head underneath his hands gently brushing over her body.

“We need to…figure out where our lines are,” Daphne brought out. This had been intense.

“We do,” Luke agreed. “Mating is off the table until we are both ready for it…which means vaginal intercourse is off the table but what isn’t?”

“I..I am okay with…what we were doing right now…I…I liked it.” She admitted, her cheeks on fire again.”

“Hey, no blushing about this.” Luke teased her softly. “It’s just me. We need to talk about this. It’s healthy. And I wanted you to like this.”

“I…I want to touch you as well…” she admitted hesitantly. “But I can’t concentrate when you turn all my muscles into jelly.” That resulted in him laughing again, but he pressed another kiss against her hair.

“I would love that,” he admitted, when she ran her hand over his shoulder again, resting it against his back, his muscles jumping against her hands.

“And…otherwise we’ll…figure it out when we are doing it? We both say stop if we…” Daphne hesitantly offered and Luke nodded immediately.

“That works, sweetheart,” he agreed, brushing a kiss over her hair.

“I don’t want to hurt you. If I get to rough with you, I need you to tell me immediately,” Luke told her, his voice seriously. “You are stronger than a normal human but you are still no physically match to my strength.” He looked at her, his green eyes telling her just how important that was to him and she needed.

“I _**promise**_ ,” Daphne whispered. “I’ll tell you.”

She would. She trusted Luke to stop if she asked him to.

She trusted him not to hurt her on purpose. And that was far more than she ever had before.


	24. Chapter 19

**_Christmas is the day that holds all time together._ **

_Alexander Smith_

Even when it was Christmas Eve, it didn’t stop Luke from curling up in front of Daphne’s bed for the night.

She still slept with a hand buried in his fur, her breathing hitching sometimes. Every time he wondered if it were nightmares, listening for her to wake up.

She didn’t do it often, sometimes she did, her hand tightening in his fur and she turned towards him, gently petting his head.

His presence seemed to give her some sort of peace and Luke was very willing to give her that. He would do anything if it would help her.

And sleeping in front of her bed, really wasn’t a high order.

She even always made sure that there was a blanket for him to sleep on and on some occasion she even covered him with one, something that amused him to no end. He ended up pushing that from his body as soon as she was asleep again, his fur more than enough isolation to sleep comfortably in her room.

That night though, she jolted him awake, when her hand tightened nearly painfully in his fur, a soft cry coming from her. He was up and on all four paws in seconds, shoving his snout against her arm, trying to get her to wake.

She didn’t.

If anything she continued to cry, her hands now fisting the bedding obviously still caged in her nightmares.

“Luke,” Caroline’s voice came from the doorway as she slipped in the room.

They must have made a sight, Luke knew that. A huge black wolf, desperately shoving at the girl on the bed that was still crying, her sobs sounding through the dark and quiet room.

“Daphne!” Caroline said sharply, grabbing his girlfriend at her arms, resulting in Luke whining in protest.

No reaction from Daphne other than her head throwing from side to side.

“Honey, wake up,” Caroline said sharply then, gently shaking her, and he watched how Daphne came awake with a start, scrambling away from her aunt and towards him nearly immediately.

She hit the floor on her knees and he could smell blood coming from her, obviously having managed to hurt herself somehow.

She continued scrambling backward until her back hit the wall with a resounding thud, falling to her knees as she hid in that corner, rocking back and forth.

It was horrifying to watch.

The only light came from the hallway, casting long shadows in the room, making Daphne look terrifying with dark blood pouring from her mouth where she had probably managed to bite either her lip or her tongue.

And it also looked absolutely heartbreaking.

She looked like a child. A child so often left alone that by now it was starting to rock herself back to sleep. The flannel pajamas she wore clearly didn’t help, not when the pajamas were oversized on her slight frame, the sleeves needed to be folded over a few times to make her hands poke out.

Caroline didn’t move and for a moment neither did Luke, wracking his brain what was the best thing he could do at that moment.

He shifted closer to, waiting for her to scramble away from him as well, but she didn’t.

Carefully he padded closer to her, finally sitting down on the wooden floor a few steps away from her and laying down, not wanting to scare her with the sheer size of him.

He remembered nearly 2 months ago when his presence had been the thing that had given her comfort.

This time she didn’t reach out. This time it was him snuffling close to her, pushing his head against her legs as she still shook with tremors of whatever she had dreamt off.

“Luke, maybe you should shift,” Caroline gently suggested. “I think Matthew needs to take a look at her mouth…Hopefully she hasn’t knocked a tooth loose.”

That wasn’t good. While werewolves healed faster than humans, even they couldn’t heal when it was a tooth that was knocked out of their mouth. They weren’t crocodiles after all.

He stood up carefully, not wanting to leave her alone when her sobs were the only thing he could hear in the room.

Shifting in the bathroom, he pulled on the shirt and jeans he had worn that day. Matthew was lingering outside the door, giving him a grim smile.

Luke headed back to Daphne’s side, watching Caroline, who had inched a bit closer to Daphne, resulting in Daphne pressing herself even more in the corner of her room, but Luke had enough of that.

“Daphne,”he said sharply, her head snapping up at the tone of his voice that was an unmistaken order in there. She was still shaking like a leaf but she was looking at him, violet eyes huge and filled with tears.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he whispered, kneeling down next to her. He hadn’t expected her to literally throw herself at him, her hands grasping him with all her strength. It was going to leave bruises, he was sure of that, but Luke couldn’t care less at that moment.

He tucked her head against his shoulder, pressing a kiss against her forehead, even when the salty smell of blood was still assaulting his nose.

“Why don’t we let Matthew take a look,” he whispered softly, hauling her up from the floor and up on the bed, sitting on his lap.

She didn’t fight him, trying to hide against his chest and he rubbed over her back, trying to make her feel safe.

Matthew stepped into the room, careful not to put her even more on edge than she already was and pulled her desk chair so that he could sit down in front of them.

“There you are, Daphne,” he said gently when she was still hiding her face against Luke’s shoulder. She twisted around slightly though, facing her uncle.

He pulled on latex gloves, his eyes already cataloging how Daphne had managed to injure herself this time.

“Can you open your mouth for me?” He asked her gently and Daphne did as he asked, blood still smeared around her mouth.

“No biting,” he told Daphne drily and Luke was unable not to chuckle at that. Matthew used one gloved finger to run it over her teeth, Daphne only flinching when he touched her lip.

“Seems like you managed to get your teeth in there pretty good,” Matthew summed it up, pulling back his hand. “Nothing that needs stitches, however.”

“I’m sorry,” Daphne whispered, the first words she had said since she was awake, her voice shaky and timid and Luke just held her a little bit tighter.

“Oh honey, you don’t need to apologize,” Caroline told her softly, kneeling down in front of Daphne for a moment, reaching out to touch her cheek. “It’s okay, I promise. Try to get some more sleep alright? It’s still early.”

They left them alone and Luke knew that the only reason they did that was that they knew exactly that if Daphne would talk to anybody about that nightmare…then he probably would have the best chance to get something out of her.

“Want me to shift back?” He asked her idly, still gently rubbing her back. He would if she wanted him to. Sometimes it seemed easier for her to accept intimacy if it was his wolf that she could touch. She didn’t seem as hesitant to touch him then as she was when she was human when she let him touch her all he wanted but her own hands tended to clutch his back.

“No,” she disagreed immediately, her voice sharper than she had intended and she shivered again, even when he didn’t say anything to it. “Will…Will you hold me? Please?” She begged. She would never need to beg for him to hold her.

“Of course,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to her head. "Let’s get you comfortable first,” Luke suggested, gently dropping her on the bed and pulling back the duvet so that he could pull it tightly around her.

He ducked into the bathroom quickly to get her a towel to clean up the blood that was still smeared around her mouth and a glass of water, both of which she took thankfully. 

As much as he wanted to be the one carefully cleaning the blood away, he somehow doubted that that would go over well.

“I am sorry, I woke you,” she apologized to him as she cleaned up her face, her tongue carefully probing around her mouth to see where her lips had split and Luke just shook his head. God.

“Sweetheart, that’s the last thing I care about,” he told her drily. He cared about her pain, about her nightmare…but not that she woke him. Actually, he was quite happy about that.

He sat down on the bed next to her and she seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“Is this comfortable for you?” She finally asked him, not meeting his eyes and he needed a moment until he recognized that she probably meant the jeans he was wearing.

“Do you want me to lose the jeans?” He asked her and she nodded, still not meeting his eyes.

He did as she had told him, slipping underneath the covers next to him and she crawled closer, draping herself all over him. With her half on top of him, there was no problem with the duvet not covering both of him, and he could steal her pillow as she bedded her head on his chest.

He needed to remind himself that this isn’t like that though, because Daphne’s hand drawing lines on his chest, made him think about something else indeed.

He held her tighter, catching her hands in his and pressing it lightly as he shut the light off, leaving them alone in the dark room.

“What did you dream about?” He asked her idly, drawing his own patterns on her back. He was gently doing that, not wanting to hurt her scars. But she seemed to like it if anything. Her breathing deepened and she relaxed against him.

“Christmas,” she finally admitted to him.

“What did you do last year?” He asked her, wondering what Daphne normally did on Christmas.

Luke and his family tended to go to Church on Christmas Eve and while Christmas Day was spent in the smaller family section come afternoon, the Schuyler house would be absolutely filled with all their cousins and aunts and uncles. And Luke adored that.

His mother would have spent far too much time baking and cooking and the table would be laden with dozens of different side and main dishes.

The Hyde’s were also always invited, with Ollie and Grace mated, and this year it meant that Daphne would be there as well, singing Christmas carols and generally having a good time.

He was hoping he would be able to talk her into a snowball fight with his cousins as he very much doubted that she had had that kind of fun before.

“I got between Michelle and her Whiskey Bottles,” Daphne told him drily and he was harshly reminded that her past Christmas experiences probably hadn’t been a lot of fo fun for her.

“Sweetheart,” he breathed out, not sure if he wanted to know what had happened afterward.

“She forgot to pay rent again so the money I had put away for groceries went towards that…I remember that the only thing in the house that night had been two oranges and the last packet of ramen.” There was a hollow laugh coming from her and he wondered how any of that was possible amusing to her.

Alone the thought of that…of her not even having enough to eat to not be hungry anymore was making him want to become a homicidal maniac, his wolf growling in agreement and then starting to consider to bring her some more rabbits again.

“Did…You were hungry,” he said, not a question. She didn’t react for a moment before she finally answered.

“Did you know that hunger is the worst pain?” She asked him, her voice near painfully soft. “The rest…the slaps…the belt…You get used to it after a while…the pain isn’t that bad. But hunger…it drives you insane. And it **_hurts_**.”

He needed to close his eyes, trying to stop his brain from supplying him with pictures. She had been waifishly thin when she had first arrived in Fairbury. Had it been even worse through the years?

Still, she didn’t eat even nearly enough for his liking and he wondered if she was even able to. Or if her body had gotten so used to never having enough food that it was unable to handle a normal amount.

“That won’t ever happen again,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against her forehead. It wouldn’t. That was something he would take care of.

He wanted her to shift only so that he could take her hunting. He wanted to bring down a deer for her, wanting to provide her with food. And he could do that. Even if something happened and he would be unable to do so in his human form…the wolf would always be able to hunt for her.

He just somehow doubted that Daphne would react well to that when he remembered the rabbit murder episode at the beginning of their relationship.

“Have…Have you talked with Caroline and Matthew about that, Daphne?” Luke asked her. Mostly because he needed to know if they were aware of that. Did it still hurt her? Did she need something so that her body wouldn’t get sick?

“No, I can’t,” she answered immediately. “I can’t, Luke.”

“Sweetheart,” he protested but Daphne already interrupted him before he could go on.

“Michelle was her sister, Luke. I don’t want to… I don’t want to destroy all of Caroline's good memories of her,” Daphne brought out, her voice sounding pained at only the thought of that.“I…I don’t want to take that from her.”

“Daphne,” he whispered her name, forcing her to look at him. “Caroline saw the scars. We all did. I think that damage is already done.”

He could see when that realization set in, when she curled up even tighter near him, her hands fisting in his shirt.

“Please, talk to them. Please, sweetheart.” He wasn’t above begging if it made his mate agree.

“If you think I need to…” she was still timid but she nodded her agreement. Thank god for small mercies.

“I do. Thank you, sweetheart,” he whispered, pulling her up so that he could brush a kiss against her forehead.

“I never ate Gingerbread before…until a few weeks ago, when Caroline let Ollie and me help her decorate her gingerbread men,” Daphne whispered absentmindedly, tucking her head against his chest as she yawned.

“Did you like them?” He asked her and she nodded her agreement, obviously tired.

“Go to sleep, Daphne,” he told her gently, rubbing her back. “I’ll listen. Whenever you want to talk about it, I’ll listen,” he promised her then, hoping that at least these words would be believed by her.

He wasn’t sure if she heard them, not when her breathing already evened out slowly and her hands continued to fist in his shirt.

She stayed curled up on top of him and he stayed holding here still considering his vigil at her side.

***

Luke slipped out of the bed early in the morning and she turned her head towards him.

“Merry Christmas, Daphne,” he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and she was unable not to smile at him.

“Merry Christmas,” she replied, reaching out to run her fingers through his short hair, scratching a bit with her nails. Regardless if she had a black wolf at her side or her boyfriend, both of them did enjoy that.

He shifted in her bedroom and she put on the fluffy green robe that Caroline had brought along from a Target run a few weeks ago, because _“You don’t have one and it’s getting cold here.”_ Daphne wore it every morning and evening, unable to keep herself from petting the soft and cuddly fabric. Caroline had been right, the nearer they came to Christmas the colder it became in Fairbury but that wasn’t the only reason why Daphne adored it.

It was the thought behind it. The thought that Caroline had picked it out for her because she remembered that Daphne could get cold and bought it for her.

A big black wolf padded out of her bathroom and she was unable not to smile at Luke, as she opened the door to bring him downstairs.

They would see each other again for the afternoon but for the morning they would both spend time with family.

She sent him off through the backdoors, pressing a kiss to the forehead of the huge wolf before he scampered off towards the forest, and then she got started on Breakfast.

Caroline had already prepared pancake batter for the morning and so Daphne got started on that, switching on the lights on the Christmas tree that was decorated in white this year. She was unable not to flinch when she heard the door open a few minutes later, Ollie entering the room, surprised to see her already.

“Merry Christmas,” her cousin said to her, hugging her. “Did you already throw the parents out of the bed?” He joked but Daphne just snorted in amusement.

“No, Luke woke me when he went back home,” Daphne told him with a grin.

“What happened to your mouth?” Ollie asked her suddenly. “Your lower lip is all swollen.”

“I had a nightmare…bit on it. Doesn’t hurt anymore though…And it’s nearly healed. Which is weird, doesn’t go that fast normally,” Daphne waved him off. It was nothing.

“Do you want to talk about that nightmare?” Ollie asked her gently but she shook her head, smiling at him. It was sweet that he asked but she would much prefer it to be Luke that she talked with.

“Thank you, but…” she answered unable to find the right words.

“Okay,” Ollie agreed easily. “But please, at least talk to Luke, alright?” She nodded her agreement with that. Luke wouldn’t let her get out of talking with him, and Really, Daphne couldn’t find a fault in that.

“Oh, we really trained them well, Caroline,” Matthew’s voice came from the doorway, obviously joking. “Making breakfast on Christmas Morning. And not even ripping into their presents.”

“Hey, we can be all grown up when the need arises,” Ollie protested loudly, ducking away when his father ruffled his hair and Caroline laughed at that.

“Too old for presents then?” Caroline asked her son amused and Ollie started to protest immediately, leaving Daphne unable not to laugh as well.

They opened presents over breakfast, Daphne having spent the last few weeks feverishly working on hers for Matthew and Caroline, next to finishing up the illustrations for her book.

She had made it to fit in the upper hallway as Caroline had mentioned absentmindedly because she wanted a new art piece there. And because they were living on Maine’s coastline and Daphne did love the sound of waves lapping at the shore, it was a watercolor of just that.

Daphne’s Christmas gift from her aunt and uncle was a new tablet because she had needed to borrow Oliver’s or Caroline’s laptop for most of her book work. It also came with a stencil, which meant that Daphne also made her first foray into Digital Painting that morning.

Ollie bought her a Christmas sweater with a penguin on the front which Daphne pulled over her head immediately.

There were some more clothes for her as well, some books and hot chocolate.

Thoroughly spoiled, she and Ollie threw wrapping paper at each other, laughing when a bright green bow god stuck on her cousin's head. Daphne never had gotten that many things at the same time and when there was finally a new pair of Converse that Caroline gave her…cherry red this time, she needed to swallow back the tears that wanted to fall over her cheeks.

She still had the old ones, by now as full of holes as a piece of Swiss cheese, but now…now she had a new pair.

They went over to the Schuyler’s around midday, and Daphne was pulled right into building a snowman with Luke, while Kiana bossed them both around much to their amusement.

When the little girl finally left them alone in the search for buttons and a carrot for the nose, Daphne was still pushing snow to the base of the snowman, while Luke was finishing up the snowball that would be the head.

“I swear, I had something else planned,” Luke snorted, as he carefully played it on top of the other two snowballs that were already placed on top of each other. “You know something romantic. We still didn’t have a date after all.”

“I don’t need a date,” she told him once again, straightening up, but letting him pull her into his arms after all.

“I know that,” he gave back, pressing a kiss to her forehead, covered by a bright purple beanie, courtesy of Cecilia Schuyler. There were matching gloves and attaching scarf as well, as well as an absolutely oversized sweater that dwarfed her if she put it on.

Luke and she hadn’t exchanged gifts yet and Daphne couldn’t help but wonder what he had gotten her. She had painted him in his wolf form, pencil on paper, figuring out that…anything else would pale in intimacy to her drawing him something. Still, she wondered what Luke would give her.

He pulled her against his side and Daphne leaned against him, soaking up the warmth that he always seemed to permeate even when they were outside while it was snowing.

Kiana came running back outside, determinedly laden down by a cooking pot that was bigger than she was, a carrot between her teeth and two twigs as arms.

And for one moment Daphne wondered if that would have been her if she had grown up in Fairbury and not in New York. Luke and she would have grown up together all through primary school. They probably would have the same kind of relationship that grace and ollie had, filled with inside jokes and memories that stretched over nearly 2 decades, while Daphne still wondered if there would ever come a time where Luke and she would have the same kind of rapport.

Would there be a time where she would get used to his touch? Where it wouldn’t be so overwhelming anymore when he kissed her?

“Come on, Sweetheart, let’s give that snowman some arms and a hat,” Luke sighed, helping his cousin with her artistic pursuits.

They were just finished with the snowmen, christened Olaf thanks to a late-night watch party of Frozen a few days ago that a snowball sailed through the air, hitting Daphne square in the shoulder.

It wasn’t pain as much as it was surprise as Daphne squawked, resulting in Kiana bursting into laughing.

“Kiana!” Luke exclaimed dismayed and before Daphne could do so much as protest, a snowball fight began.

It wasn’t clear who was actually fighting against who and it didn’t take long for Daphne to manage to hit Luke’s chest with one of her, granted quite sad snowballs.

“Sorry!” She squeaked with laughter, but that didn’t keep Luke from tackling her into the snow, and she was unable not to gasp in surprise when he landed right on top of her, hazel eyes sparkling with amusement staring at her.

He kissed her, pressing his lips to hers, his tongue demanding entrance which she gave immediately, throwing her arms around him.

It shouldn’t be as comfortable as it was at that moment. He had tackled her right into a snowbank and she should be cold and uncomfortable and…

But as he kissed her, Daphne couldn’t care less. Her hands buried themselves in his hair and she wondered how it came that he never seemed cold in the winter. Maybe that were the few degrees that he ran hotter than the normal humans.

He let her go after another hungry kiss, for a moment meeting her eyes. His weight disappeared from her then suddenly, and he pulled her to her feet, pressing a near apologetic kiss to her forehead.

“Come on, Daphne. We’ll get you thawed,” he whispered and she nodded her agreement. “And maybe you’ll finally get to open your gift without interruptions,” Luke sighed and she was unable not to laugh at that but let him lead her back to the house.

Once he had helped her out of her parka, which was heavy with snow and ice and dripping all over the back porch, they slipped back into the house, finding a calm spot in front of the fireplace.

“I didn’t know what to give you. You have everything,” Daphne told him, her voice soft. It had driven her up the wall for weeks until she had finally thought of something.

“So I thought…I would give you the one thing that I am actually kinda good at,” she admitted with a timid smile, holding out her gift for him.

It was a pencil portrait of Luke in his wolf form, and she had spent hours getting it just right for him.

He took the rolled paper from her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Thank you, Sweetheart,“he said, smiling at her. He unrolled the paper, his eyes drinking in her sketch.

For a short moment, suddenly Daphne remembered. She remembered how often she had given one of her paintings to Michelle. None of them had ever stood up to her mother’s exacting standards. Still, they didn’t. Daphne knew that while she was good…her mother had been the one who had been brilliant. She had been the one who had been able to make a scene come alive with just a few brushstrokes. Daphne was the one who worked slowly, methodically, who needed to try and try again until finally, it looked at least a bit like it did in real life.

“It’s beautiful, Daphne,” Luke’s voice pulled her out of her memories and she shook them away, replacing her mother’s harpy voice with Luke’s far more pleasant one.

“Good,” she brought out, leaning into his touch as he cupped her cheek.

“Will you tell me one day why giving me that made you pale so terribly?” Luke asked her gently and she closed her eyes. She breathed in shakily but she nodded.

“One day,” she promised him, searching his eyes. One day she would tell him the whole truth. But not right now. Not on Christmas.

“I’ll wait. However long you need me to,” he told her and she believed him. He would wait for her. He would always wait for her.

“And now, it’s time for your present,” Luke said with a grin

It was a box. Wrapped in dark red wrapping paper, a bright blue bow stuck on top of it and Daphne stared at it. It was both surprisingly heavy and surprisingly big, around the size of two shoeboxes if they had been pushed together.

And she had absolutely no idea what it possibly could be.

“You know, it would probably help if you opened it,” he teased her gently.

She couldn’t help but giggle at that, but she did rip apart the wrapping paper, opening up the box.

“Oh…” the sound escaped her when she finally saw what was filling the box. Painting supplies. Lots of them to be honest. Her favorite watercolors that she knew where stupidly expensive, in all the colors of the rainbow. Alcohol ink markers that she had thought repeatedly to buy but never had bitten the bullet on…

“I know it’s not the most…personal thing but I thought…you once told me that you never could have enough painting supplies.” He seemed just as nervous as she had felt before she had handed her gift over to him.

It was personal. He had figured out the exact brand that was her favorite, had listened to her rant on about painting supplies, and had brought her the ones that he had always wanted to try.

“Thank you, Luke,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

***

The next morning, Daphne woke up later than usual. Luke wasn’t next to her bed, so he was probably with his own family and Daphne wrapped herself in her dressing gown to pad down the stairs.

The rest of the family was in the living room, still in their pajamas and Daphne flopped down next to Caroline on the couch.

“Still tired, honey?” Caroline asked her gently and she nodded, dropping her head back against her aunt’s shoulder when she wrapped an arm around her.

“That’s okay,” Caroline soothed her, playing with the blonde curls that Daphne had inherited from Michelle.

“I am sorry for waking you and Matthew yesterday…I…” Daphne brought out tiredly. She was sorry. Her aunt and uncle shouldn’t need to deal with her problems.

“Oh honey, that’s not…” Caroline protested softly. “It’s not a problem,” she assured Daphne. “I promise.”

“I…If you need to talk, we are there, alright?” Her aunt told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I know that maybe you are preferring Luke but Matthew, Ollie, or I am there if you want to talk to us.”

“Thank you,” Daphne pressed out biting back the tears. She buried her face against her aunt’s shoulder as her uncle sat down next to her, gently rubbing her back.

“It’s not your fault,” her uncle told her, his voice certain. “It’s not your fault, Daphne.”

Oh, how she wished she could believe him.

“I saw the scars, Daphne. I know what my sister did to you. And if she was still alive, I would want to **_kill_** her for it,” Caroline whispered, her arms suddenly coming up around Daphne, holding her so tightly that she couldn’t breathe.

She couldn't hold back the tears then, not when her aunt continued to hold her tightly, gently petting her hair, the next words fierce and burned into Daphne's mind for the rest of her life:

“There is **_never_** an excuse for hurting a child like that. **_Never._** ”

***


	25. Chapter 20

**_Each year’s regrets are envelopes in which messages of hope are found for the new year._ **

_John R. Dallas Jr._

Braiding her hair had always been something that had fascinated Daphne. It was art…just with a medium that was far less easy to use than a brush and paint.

She liked doing it, liked that it could be something that she could do to make herself look prettier that cost nothing.

Most of the times, Daphne threw her hair up on her head in a messy bun or braided it in a quick French braid down her back. If she wanted to do something a bit prettier, then she made a waterfall braid around the side of her head, the bread weaving in and out of the hair, keeping it out of her face, but not taking any more hair with it.

And then, like today…it was very rarely that she got the opportunity to do it on another person.

She was braiding Kiana’s hair, the dark brown hair thicker and much more beautiful than Daphne’s would ever be. She braided it tightly along the scalp on the side of her head, teasing the top section and pulling it in a low ponytail.

“Where did you even learn that?” Kiana asked her amused as Daphne continued to weave the low ponytail in a braid that looked like chainlinks.

“It’s the cheapest way to look like you put some thought into your appearance,” she admitted softly. “I always wore my hair long and we didn’t exactly have the money for a hairdresser, so I just always…I always pulled it back and then that got bored…so I started braiding,” Daphne explained, finishing the braid and fishing for a clear hair elastic on Grace’s dresser.

“I’m sorry about…I wasn’t thinking when we went dress shopping. I mean…I knew that it was bad, I just…I didn’t think about how bad it must have been. I am sorry about how I reacted,” Kiana apologised, a far cry from her usual brash personality. Daphne hadn’t expected that at all. She tightened the hair tie, for a moment being quiet before she answered.

“It’s fine, Kiana. Really. It’s not your fault. I know that they look…pretty horrific to an outsider,” Daphne answered finally. “I should get used to them. I’ll always have them,” she added with a sad grin.

They would always be there.

In all their terrible **_glory_**.

Luke didn’t care. Maybe with time, Daphne would learn not to care as well. But she couldn’t help but smile softly when she remembered the feeling of his lips on her skin, couldn’t help but smile when she remembered his words.

He didn’t care.

And she wouldn’t either.

“Daphne?” Grace called her name and ripped her out of her thoughts which she cleared away with a shake of her head.

“Sorry,” she told Luke’s sister, “I am being a bit…” she trailed off, unable to find the right words to explain this.

“You aren’t nervous about this evening, are you?” Grace asked her gently. “Because you don’t need to be,” the other girl told her, as she sat down on her bed, brushing freshly washed hair.

They had decided to all get ready for the ball together and so they were ensconced into Grace’s room, which was a girl’s dream.

The walls were light blue, but you couldn’t go three steps in the room, without being hit with an avalanche of decisively girly items, from dresses and skirts thrown haphazardly over a chair, to a whole shelf full of nail polish in the bathroom that Luke had built for her, over more makeup than Daphne had ever seen outside of a store.

“What if I do something wrong?” Daphne finally asked. “What if I manage to embarrass Luke in some way or start some kind of weird werewolf war?”

“I very much doubt that will happen,” Grace told her with a laugh but grew serious when she realised that Daphne wasn’t in a joking mood. “What could you possibly do wrong?” She asked Daphne gently. “I doubt very much that Luke is going to leave your side once throughout that evening. Stay with him, and it’s going to be fine.”

“Look, they know who you **_belong_** to. Anybody who is going to challenge Luke’s claim to you is waiting to be killed, to be honest,” Kiana told her drily. “Starting an argument with Stephen Schuyler’s **_Heir_** is the most stupid thing somebody can do tonight. Other than starting an argument with the alpha himself.”

Great, that did not make Daphne feel any better. She didn’t want even more violence or death. She wanted peace. She wanted to be left in peace and have a nice evening with Luke without being interrupted by some stupid guy.

Still, the idea that Luke would need to physically defend her…that was making her ill to the stomach.

“Hey,” Grace reached out for her arm. “Come on, sit down. Let me do your makeup.”

She listened to her and sat down on the chair that Kiana caveated with a grin. She disappeared in Grace’s bathroom, probably to clean her face because she would also let Grace have a stab at her face with far too many makeup brushes.

“Nobody is gonna die, I promise,” Grace promised her softly. “There hasn’t been any bloodshed in _years_ , Daphne.”

“Luke could…?” She brought out, unable to form her questions in words. Probably because she didn’t even know what questions she actually wanted to ask.

Could Luke kill somebody? Would he do it? Was he able to? Did werewolves kill other werewolves?

“If it was another werewolf that hurt you as Kyle did, Luke could and would have been able to rip him to a thousand pieces and nobody would have anything to say about it,” Grace said drily. “Attacking a Werewolf human mate like that…” she trailed off, shaking her head and Daphne felt like s shiver was running through her when she remembered the pain.

She should be scared. She should go on a tirade about how self-justice was wrong, about how they couldn’t go around killing other werewolves but she couldn#t bring the words out.

“There are animals lurking underneath our skin after all,” Grace said with a smirk. “Protecting the _pack_ …protecting our _mates_ …that will always be our priority. And anybody that would attack a human mate like that…he would live with the consequences.”

“But I am not human anymore,” Daphne protested softly. Then it was different, right?

“You aren’t shifted either. And no, Luke would still have the same right to retribution as he would have when you were still human,” Grace gave back with a shrug. “This is theoretical, Daphne. Nobody is going to be stupid enough to lay a finger on you tonight,” Grace promised her, finally putting some kind of translucent powder all over her face after having finished with Daphne’s eye makeup and handing her a lipstick.

“Are you going to shift sometime soon by the way?” Grace asked her curiously as Daphne applied the lipstick and she stayed quiet for a moment.

That was the one million dollar question, wasn’t it?

And Daphne still couldn’t decide on an answer.

Luke had very carefully not pressured her but she _knew_. She knew that he wanted her to, that he wanted her to be with him as completely as possible and that would mean that she would finally shift and figure out her life as a real werewolf.

It wasn’t helped by the fact that sometimes Daphne felt like she could feel the wolf press up inside her, like she was done with Daphne’s indecisiveness and wanted to decide for her. Daphne press down as harshly as she could, tried to ignore it, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t acutely aware of the feeling of having a beast slumbering within her.

“I am terrified,” she admitted softly.

“Why?” Grace asked her surprised. “It’s fun!” Daphne wanted to laugh about the ridiculousness of the whole situation. She was terrified of changing into a giant beast and her friend, who changed into said giant beast on a regular was trying to tell her that it was fun.

“What if I go crazy and rip out Luke’s throat?” Daphne blurted out and Grace just stared at her.

“That would mean that you actually manage to get your teeth anywhere near him,” Kiana told her drily, from behind, letting herself fall onto Daphne’s bed. “No offence, Daphne, but that’s so _not_ gonna happen. He’s probably twice your size. He’s not going to have any problems to _physically_ dominate you if the need arises.” Kiana winked at her which just resulted in Daphne’s cheeks heating up. God. Did they need to have that discussion?

“Let me guess that’s not actually sounding that scary but pretty good, doesn’t it?” Kiana asked her with another wink and Daphne.averted her eyes.

**It did.**

It should scare her. Daphne should be terrified about the idea to be at Luke’s mercy like that but…she wasn’t. She wasn’t at all. A part of her recognised it. Just as she had recognised that he was safe and right the first time they et. He didn’t scare her.

“Is that normal?” Daphne brought out hesitantly and Grace laughed softly.

“It’s fine. He’s your mate. And he’s also your alpha. Your wolf recognises that even if you don’t, Daphne,” Grace calmed her down.

“You said that before…when you told me that he wanted to **_breed_** me,” Daphne said drily and Kiana laughed.

“He does. But right now it’s more about…wanting to mate with you. Making you his in any way that he can get away with,” Grace told her seriously. “There are going to be a lot of unmated werewolves here tonight. If Luke gets…possessive for lack of a better word, it’s his instincts being primed. He does not mean to subjugate you.”

Daphne accepted that as advice. Right. No Freaking out if Luke was going to be…possessive. Not that it would bother her probably. She couldn’t help a shiver that ran through her when she imagined how that would be.

***

He couldn’t help but pace around in his father’s office. It was the only room in the house that hadn't been subjected to his mother’s deep cleaning and decorating and as his mother was ruling downstairs with an iron fist…Luke figured that staying upstairs was probably a safer bet.

He fingered the purple tie that his sister had thrown at him that morning, unable not to let the nervousness bleed into his movements. The tie was supposed to match Daphne’s dress, a silky purple, some subtle pattern woven into the fabric.

He should probably be happy that his mother and sister hadn’t decided that he should wear a whole purple suit.

“Ah, there you are,” his father exclaimed as he entered the room. “You could have gotten it out yourself, you know the code.”

“I didn’t want to get into Mom’s way,” Luke answered with a grin and his father chuckled.

“Who wants that?” He gave back amusedly as he unlocked the safe, pulling out the velvet box that Luke knew held what he was searching for. “There you go.”

He opened it, for a moment allowing himself to imagine how Daphne would look if she wore the whole set. Then he pulled out the bracelets, the diamonds and amethyst softly clinking in his hands. 6 rectangular amethyst, set with diamonds and connected with fragile chains. It was the most obvious show of…bleonging that he could get away with that evening.

Luke left his father’s office with the bracelet carefully tucked in the pocket of his suit and the thought that hopefully, Daphne would like it.

He knew that she was getting ready with his sister and cousin so he didn’t have to wait that long to see her. By the time his mother had finally decided to get ready herself, and downstairs everything was decorated, he could hear her voice from upstairs.

He looked over to the stairs and he was pretty sure that he stared at her like an absolute idiot.

Not that he cared.

Daphne normally was beautiful. But Daphne that day…she was _breathtaking_.

Like Cinderella as she walked down the stairs, her eyes finding his, biting her lips but then she smiled.

The dress she wore was purple, the same colour as her eyes. Layers upon layers of a soft and gauzy fabric were covering her, her waist looking even tinier than he knew it was. Her shoulders were cupped by near translucent sleeves, the neckline dipping down in the middle, letting him have a peek at what he knew to lay beneath it.

Daphne looked beautiful.

Her hair was held in a high undo, and while he missed how her blonde curls looked when the flowed freely over her shoulders, this let him see her neck without anything obstructing the view. It was like somebody was dangly everything he wanted right in front of him.

He wanted to bite her.

The thought came so suddenly to him that it scared him, but he couldn’t help but stare at her neck. Right now, the ivory skin was marred with a teeth marks of him in wolf form but he wanted to put a real claiming bite on her there. He wanted to bury his face in the side of his neck and bite, bite until he drew blood until he could hear her gasp until he could feel her whole body submit to him, her mate and her alpha.

She was his.

However, he couldn’t do anything against that right now. And he shouldn’t think about her like that either, not when he didn't want to scare the crap out of her.

“You look…gorgeous, sweetheart” he brought out instead, offering her his hand as she arrived next to him.

“Thank you,” Daphne brought out. “I really like the dress.”

He wanted to protest, to tell her that it was her that it was beautiful and not that dress, even when it was pretty as well, but as he saw her face and realised that his compliment had resulted in bright red cheeks and her scent changing into something…much warmer.

“You look..handsome,” she whispered, biting her lip again as she reached out to righten his tie and he let her, unable not to reach out and touch the flawless ivory of her arms.

She smiled at him, standing up on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his, and that was something that Luke was never going to have enough from.

“I…I have something for you,” he finally said when she leaned away from him and she looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed.

“My birthday is only tomorrow,” she told him drily but he shook his head, unable not to grin at that.

“It’s…not a gift per se,” he answered truthfully. “You would be doing me a favour if you wore it.”

He snatched up her wrist with one hand, with the other one plucking up the bracelet from his jacket pocket and she stared at him.

“No, Luke that’s…”she protested but then he already closed it around her fragile wrist, tightening it down so that there was no way it would slip of her.

It looked right at him there, the dark purple stones contrasting with Daphne’s flawless ivory skin.

“Please, tell me that aren’t real diamonds,” she blurted out and he couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Sorry,” he answered mirthfully, flitting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.

“It was my grandmother’s,” Luke informed her, keeping his eyes carefully trained on her face, to catch her reaction. Her eyes snapped up to meet his,wide open and looking at him nearly fearfully.

“Luke,” she breathed his name and he knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment. He was putting a piece of his family history on full display on his mate and he knew that she would want to protest. There was still a part of her that didn’t think that this relationship was going to hold, that thought that Luke would try to find something better.

Like there was something better than Daphne and the smell of vanilla, pineapple and **_home_**.

“The older generation will know exactly what this means,” he whispered, his voice broken open in a way it rarely was. “And the younger…They will recognise my family’s crest of arms.”

He didn’t tell her that it would be as obvious as putting a neon sign above her head that spelt out TAKEN. Nobody would be stupid enough to say anything to her when Luke had done the next best thing other than putting a bite to the side of her neck.

And as much as he wanted to do that…really wanted to do that…he couldn’t. Not right now.

Right now that bracelet would be enough for him.

And tomorrow…when her birthday came, he had something else to her. Something at least a tiny bit less obvious that he would maybe be able to talk her into wearing every day. 

“Is…Is it like a collar?” Her words pulled her out of his thoughts and he could only stare at her in horror.

Oh god. Alone the idea of keeping her as some kind of **_pet_** was making him want to murder somebody.

“Oh god, Daphne, no,” he breathed out. “If anything…they’ll see as a very old fashioned courting gift,” he admitted. “around 70 years ago…if I would have wanted to make my intentions known to you…that I was interested in mating with you, then I would have given you something like that,” he explained gently. “Today only the very traditional packs still hold onto that.”

“My grandmother left the bracelet to me. It was a wedding gift from my grandfather,” Luke continued. “It’s yours. You will be the only one who will ever wear it.”

She looked startled at that but finally, she nodded. She glanced back down to the bracelet for a moment, finally reaching out to touch it.

“It’s beautiful,” Daphne finally whispered. “Thank you.”

She leaned up to press a kiss against his cheek and he turned his head so it landed on his lips.

There would never be a time where he wouldn’t want her to kiss him.

***

The Schuyler’s…Ballroom (Was it a Ballroom? Whatever the heck it was, it was huge, running the whole was all decked out in midnight blue and silver decoration. It managed to both look tasteful and elegant and Daphne was unable not to take in everything with huge eyes and the feeling that that was not the world that she belonged into.

She had always been the girl with the jeans that had been ripped because she had worn them through. The one with the shoes that had holes in them and that had worked three jobs to support herself and the mother that had managed to drink every money she had gotten her hands on away.

No, she was not going to think about Michelle tonight.

Not **_tonight_**.

 ** _Tonight_** , she would enjoy the evening, with her hand tucked into the crook of her boyfriend elbow and his grandmother’s bracelet on her wrist.

She couldn’t help but look down to it every few seconds, paranoid that it would somehow get loose even with it encircling her wrist tightly.

It was a beautiful piece of jewellery, obviously expensive, at least as far as Daphne could possibly guess it. 6 rectangular purple stones, surrounded by diamonds and the clasp a relief work. It was a crest of arms, she could recognise that.

It didn’t surprise her that there was a wolf on there. They were a family of werewolves after all.

What surprised her, however, was how many people were actually showing up. Daphne somehow hadn’t expected quite as many werewolves to live in the near vicinity.

“We tend to have rather big families,” Luke explained to her, his voice quiet. “My parents and Matthew and Caroline are more the exceptions than the rule. Kiana’s family on the other hand…” There was a joking lilt to his words. Kiana was the oldest of 6 kids, all boys, other than her and Thalia.

She got to meet some of the extended family, some of Luke’s maternal cousin, of which he got **_42_** at the last count.

(Apparently, Cecilia Schuyler was one of 7 kids, and said 6 siblings each had at least 3 kids with 12 being the most.)

After meeting the mother of said 12 siblings, she looked at Luke for a moment.

“I am not having 12 children,” she told him wide-eyed. “That…so many.”

Luke laughed softly but nodded his agreement. “We’ll figure something out,” he promised her gently. “But I agree…I don’t think I want so many kids that it gets near the double digits.”

She needed to fight down the blush that wanted to appear high on her cheeks at the understanding that they talked about their children. That one day they would have that life together, their own little family.

And in the moments that Daphne wasn’t scared out of her mind…she could admit that she liked the idea of that.

They took a turn on the dance floor, which mostly meant that Luke dragged her around and made it look like she knew what she was doing even when that was not the case, but it was surprisingly fun. She got to be near Luke. Daphne always enjoyed that.

She probably should have expected that not all of that evening was going over as smoothly as the first few hours had done. After meeting far too many family membery and being asked far too many intimate questions that made Daphne blush beet red and resulted in Luke getting more and more agitated.

His hand never strayed far from the small of her back, but she could feel how it became tighter with every question they were asked. Most asked but how long they were together, some questions became far too intimate, asking them when they would mate…and Daphne could hear the undercurrent in far too many of them.

_What could_ **_he_ ** _possibly want from_ **_her?_ **

She was **_furious_**.

Daphne didn’t often feel that way. But right in that instance, she could feel the anger well up inside her. And that wasn’t the only one thing she could feel welling up inside her.

Luke seemed to realise what was happening, as he pulled her to a quiet corner, her back against the wall and only Luke surrounding her.

It made the wolf withdrew from pushing **up** and **_out_**.

She couldn’t explain how it felt, how she fought against it, just that it was intense pressure and heat in her chest, the feeling of something other twisting inside her. She felt like she was pushing against a tsunami with her bare hands, but it was enough for that moment.

“Take a deep breath,” Luke coached her gently, his fingers gently skimming over her back. “It’s okay,” he soothed her, but she could hear that she wasn’t the only one angry. He was just having a far better grip on it than she had.

“Who cares what anybody thinks,” he whispered, brushing a kiss against her forehead and she leaned against him, sneaking her arms around his waist so that she could bury her face against his chest.

_What could_ **_he_ ** _possibly want from_ **_her?_ **

That was the crux of it, wasn’t it? Luke had picked her out from the beginning, he had pushed for the relationship they were in now, he had decided that she was it for him. And Daphne…Daphne had gone along with it because he was everything she had always wanted. But she would never once would have even dared to suggest it herself.

Luke was the one all the girls wanted the date. Luke was the quarterback of the football team, one of the cool kids, and here…here he was the future alpha. And Daphne had seen the jealousy of the people in that room.

One day Luke would take his father’s place and there wasn’t much that anybody could do about it.

Kiana had once mentioned the possibility of challenging him about the leadership of the pack to her but had also told Daphne that whoever would do that would need to be **_really_** stupid.

If the challenge failed and they wouldn’t submit to Luke’s leadership when the time come, then he would need to throw them out of the pack.

And according to Kiana…that was the worst thing that could happen to a wolf.

“It’s okay,” Luke whispered again, but she could still feel the tightness in his shoulders, could feel exactly how he wanted nothing more than making himself **_very_** clear to some of the people in that room.

Still, she relaxed against him for a moment, breathing in his scent and letting it soothe her. She was with her mate. Nothing bad would happen.

“Want to steal outside?” He asked her after a moment. “Nobody should be there. It’s probably better than staying here.”

“Just another moment, please,” she whispered, leaning against his chest and letting him tuck her head under his own, his fingertips painting swirls on her back.

“You go outside…I’ll just get something to drink, okay?” Luke whispered, pressing one final kiss to her forehead and she nodded her agreement.

Outside, she could do outside. 

Cecilia had taken care that there were gas heaters, melting the snow away from the back porch, but the air was still cool enough that it was a shock to her system.

Still…Daphne was just happy to be somewhere where nobody else would go on her nerves and ask another completely inappropriate question about her romantic life for which even Daphne didn’t have an answer.

Hell, she didn’t even know when she wanted to mate with Luke. Or when would be a good time for that?

It was something that she…didn’t quite know how to deal with and…

And then the hairs on the back of her neck stood up just seconds before a heavy hand landed on her ass and a breath that was absolutely drenched with the smell of alcohol hit her.

“Hey Darlin’, what about us?” The man slurred his words.

For a moment it felt like time stood still. And then heat engulfed her and a growl ripped out of her throat, as she ripped his hand away from her body.

And then suddenly, that guy was slammed into the wall by a furious Luke.

“Give me **_one_** good reason why I shouldn’t rip your head off right now, Harrison,” Luke growled, still pressing him into the wall.

She had never experienced Luke as angry as he was at that moment. He was shaking, the lines of his body turning blurry as it was clear that he was fighting down against the wolf that wanted to fight its way to the forefront.

Daphne could just reach out, hoping that her touch would be enough to stop him from shifting at that moment. Daphne highly doubted that _Harrison_ would survive it when Luke would shift in that proximity. Not when she could imagine how furious his wolf would be to see somebody else’s hands on Daphne.

“Luke,” she whispered. “It’s okay.” She reached out, placing one hand against his back, feeling the muscles strain against her. Her own hands were shaking and she wasn’t sure if it was the shaking of Luke that run through her or if it was her own shaking, heat still unfurling in her chest in a way that she couldn’t place.

Normally he was the one trying to soothe her. Now she was trying to do it. And failing horribly.

“Luke, it’s okay…he isn’t worth it,” she whispered. Really. He wasn’t worth it that Luke would get into trouble.

He listened to her.

He listened to her.

Listening to her words, he let go of that guy, turning to her, touching her face. His normally hazel eyes were glittering with suppressed rage but he touched her with hands that were treating her like she was the most fragile porcelain he had ever seen.

“It’s okay, I am _fine_ ,” she promised him, trying to make her voice seem normal, trying to make Luke calm down. 

It would be fine. It would be fine. It needed to be **_fine_**.

Sadly that guy turned out to be either an idiot or suicidal because he couldn’t help himself but strike out one more time.

“Frigid **_bitch_** ,” the guy slurred, holding his

It felt like her blood turned to ice in her veins, her whole body freezing in place. 


	26. Interlude: Hiding in plain sight

**_ Realisation is the matter of becoming conscious of that which is already realised.  _ **

_ Wei Wu Wei _

_ “Frigid  _ **_ bitch. _ ** _ ”  _

That were probably the worst two words that Harrison Michaels could utter at that moment. 

Especially if he didn’t want Stephen’s son to kill him. Not that Stephen could fault Luke for that. 

But he hadn’t expected how terrifying it would be to see the actual aftermath of these words. 

For a moment it was quiet on that back porch. 

Luke pushed Daphne behind himself in one smooth motion, as he growled, eyes flashing amber, a partial shift rippling through him. 

Stephen couldn’t help but rear back in surprise at that. Partial Shifting was something that came with  **_ age.  _ **

Luke was 17 years old. That was incredibly young for him to…

“Luke, you need to let her go,” he said carefully. He really didn’t think that his son had in any way or shape the needed grip on his wolf and having Daphne caught in the crossfire…

“No,” his son growled, the black hair starting to spread down his face. 

“Lucas, let her go. Now!” He snapped, letting enough of his alpha bleed into his voice that his son was properly chastised, not that it helped much again the partial shift that seemed to grow less partial with every passing second. 

He stepped to the side though, letting Daphne out of the corner who was glaring daggers at Harrison.

Not what he had expected. 

What he had expected even less was the way her purple eyes seemed to flash amber as well, a shiver running through her that told Stephen that her wolf was far higher under the surface than any of them expected. 

Luke hadn’t been the one Stephen had needed to worry about. Not when Daphne was lunging at Harrison with every intention, fury on her face that he had never seen on the gentled and easygoing girl before. 

He caught her around the waist, pulling her back, even when she was still kicking and growling, quick enough that his son shifted in the blink of an eye, 300 pounds of wolf attacking Harrison who at least had the mental presence of shifting himself. 

Not that it helped much. Luke had him chased off the porch and into the forest in seconds and he could see that his son had him pinned to the ground even quicker. 

Daphne growled sharply. 

He caught her scent in that moment, more strongly than ever before, helped by the fact that she was shuddering with barely contained rage.

It felt like somebody hit him with a sledgehammer. 

Oh, God. 

Because with that…suddenly the pieces started to come together in Stephen Schuyler’s mind. He started at his son’s mate, taking in the bright blonde hair that was high up on her head right now. 

That platinum blonde hair that made nobody take a second look at her. 

He should have recognised it when he first met her. He should have recognised her scent. Of course, there was the tropical scent that she had inherited from her mother’s side of her family, the pineapples that Luke was able to smell on her. But there was that other scent as well. 

Warm and sweet, more like vanilla or sugar cookies. Unlike Caroline’s more sour scent that always reminded him of iced Tea. 

And there was only one person that Stephen had ever met that smelled like sickly sweet Sugar Cookies. 

A scent that stood in crass contrast to the alpha it belonged to. 

And Daphne’s scent had turned into burned sugar by now. 

Stephen desperately wanted to know what Michelle Emerson had thought when she had hidden her daughter away right where everybody could see and nobody had expected her to be. 

It had worked. Far too good.

“Daphne,” he snapped, and it was thankfully enough to pull her out of her trance, her eyes still wildly searching for Luke, her body shaking with the barely suppressed wolf. 

But then Daphne’s eyes locked to his and he could see the fear in them. These startling violet eyes looked at him, a perfect copy of her father’s.

“I…I am sorry,” she apologised, the wolf receding and leaving her shivering and shaking in its wake, probably still 

“It’s not your fault,” he told her gently, “Some people should learn to hold their mouths. 

He knew that by now pretty much everybody would have noticed what was happening outside, and so he wasn’t surprised to find Caroline step outside, Daphne rushing into her arms and bursting into tears. 

Not that he could fault her. 

“We’ll deal with it,” he promised her. 

And now he really should keep his son from killing Harrison Michaels. 

***

He didn’t need to search for a very long time to find Luke. The problem was just that Luke was much more animal but human at that moment. 

A pitch-black wolf was there, still growling, the hair at the scruff of his neck standing up. Eyes glowing amber, big paws right on top of a wolf that looked far smaller than Luke was. His son looked huge, every inch the alpha that he would one day grow to be. 

And Harrison, a member of the Michaels Pack from North Hampshire, was still slurring, even telepathically. 

They had problems with the Michaels Pack before, it being a bit too traditional for Stephen’s liking, but he hadn’t started a fight about that. Now he was regretting that. 

_ *What do you even want from her? She isn’t even that pretty.* _ Harrison slurred at Luke.  _ *I just wanted to have some fun.* _

As far as excuses go,  **_ that _ ** was a terrible one. 

_ *Fun with the mate of the future alpha?* _ Stephen said calmly, appearing from between the trees and he could see the moment when animal and man were still fighting, his son finally winning the upper hand and removing his paws from Harrison’s chest and growling as a threat so that Harrison stayed in place. 

_ *Tell me, Harrison, what exactly should my son have done more than to have his scent all over her and a bracelet on her wrist that everybody would have recognised as belonging to my  _ **_ mother _ ** _ if you had looked at her even more than in  _ **_ passing? _ ** _ *  _ Stephen asked calmly, sitting back on his haunches. 

He liked to think that he was a reasonable man. Right now he was having trouble finding that serenity. 

There were too many people fucking with his family. And with his realisations…if he was right then the real storm would only be hitting Fairbury in the future. 

He had no idea what he should even do about his newly acquired knowledge. Nor did he know if he was actually  ** right ** . 

The scent was pretty much a dead giveaway though. 

_ *I think my son made his intentions very clear. And I also know that Daphne Emerson did exactly nothing to make it seem like she wanted your… _ **_ attentions, _ ** _ *  _ Stephen continued easily. 

_ *Oh you can have her. She’s a pretty little thing. Even if she’s littered with all the scars….I hope she isn’t as batshit insane as her mother.* _

Stephen could probably be happy that Luke didn’t rip out Harrison’s throat for that. Even if at the moment he had half a mind of helping him. 

He was the adult though, so he should probably be responsible. 

_ *Luke,*  _ he snapped in warning. 

_ *Give me one reason not to kill him,*  _ his son answered, Luke’s eyes having taken on a dangerous glint in them.  _ *One Reason, Dad.* _

There was only one reason that Luke would accept. 

_ * _ **_ Daphne _ ** _. She wouldn’t want you to,* _ he said gently.  _ *You know her, Luke. She cried over the stupid  _ **_ rabbits _ ** _.* _

And wasn’t that a thing. She had been ready to throw herself in the fray to protect her mate though, her wolf absolutely on board with taking care of that when the need arose. 

_ *He’s an asshole but he didn’t hurt her. He touched her without permission. And while that gives you permission to beat him up, you shouldn’t kill him,*  _ he continued. 

_ *You need your daddy’s permission?*  _ Harrison slurred, the dark amusement bleeding into his voice. _ *Be a real wolf and let’s  _ **_ fight _ ** _.*  _ The light brown wolf tried to make himself look broader and taller but as he stumbled over his own paws, that effect didn’t really work. 

And Luke didn’t need to hear that call twice though.

Stephen was unable not to sigh as his son threw himself at Harrison with righteous fury, that fight so far not easily matched that it was laughable. 

_ *No. I just like to have it,*  _ his son hissed as he had Harrison on the ground a few seconds later, but not before landing a nasty swipe of his paws and claws into Harrison’s side, even if that meant that Luke himself was thrown into a tree. That was just like his son. Stephen knew that the bruises would be healed by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, but that still didn't mean that he liked it. 

_ *See this as a warning. You lay one finger on her again…you speak one more word with her…you are in the same room with her, and I’ll  _ **_ end _ ** _ you,*  _ Luke growled _.*And believe me when I say…I don’t need my father’s permission for that.* _

_ *And remember: You are living at  _ **_ her _ ** _ mercy.* _

A cold shower went down Stephen’s spine at that. He looked at his son, at the boy he had once been and the man he would one day grow to be. 

There was no question that Luke would do everything in his power so that Daphne would be protected. 

Just like it **should** be. 


	27. Chapter 21

**_ And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.  _ **

_ John Muir _

His mother fussed over him that morning, cleaning out the scratches at his side, even when they were already closing, the bruises lightening from deep purple to something that looked far more than his skin color even when it had a terrible yellow tint. 

“Did you really need to let him throw you against a tree?” Grace asked him with a raised eyebrow where she sat next to him. “We all know that you could have easily ripped out his throat without doing that.”

“At least makes it have the appearance of a fair fight. And not like I picked on him,” Luke gave back with a shrug, regretting that motion nearly immediately. Damn it, that still stung. 

“You got in quite a good strike with your claws,” his father commented as he entered the kitchen. “I talked with his father. Daphne can expect a formal apology the next time she sees him, but that probably won’t happen before the end of this year.”

“You should probably have a talk with her,” his sister said idly. “According to Ollie, she spent most of the night curled up downstairs waiting for you.”

“Didn’t you had plans for this afternoon?” His mother asked him with a raised eyebrow and he sighed. 

“We did. Iceskating. I talked her into it. I had it all planned out.” He couldn’t help but pout at that. He had looked forward to that. And he had it all planned out for Daphne and him, including that small, romantic cafe where they could have gotten hot chocolate afterwards and where he could have given Daphne her birthday present. 

Now…Now his wolf was getting furious at even the idea of taking her anywhere where he didn’t have full control of the surroundings. And Luke couldn’t fault himself for that either. 

Too many people had tried to fuck with them and that would stop now if he had anything to say about it. 

“You always did badly when your plans where thwarted,” his mother said with a grin and he glared at her. 

“Very funny, Mom,” he told her with a sigh. 

His father just chuckled, chucked something metallic, and small into his direction. He caught it easily, a key finding its way in his hand and he stared at that. Was that…

“The keys for the forest cabin,” his father said drily. “I would be thankful if you would actually use it.”

“Stephen!” His mother exclaimed, slapping the back of his father’s head who just rolled his eyes. 

“Oh for god’s sake, Cecilia, if they wanted to mate than they would have already done that,” he told his wife with a raised eyebrow.“The keys wouldn’t change anything.”

“Go up there. It’s a much better idea than dragging her anywhere with a lot of people. And you need to have a  **_ talk,”  _ ** his father said when he turned back to Luke. “I didn’t put my foot done about her shifting yet. And I don’t  **_ want _ ** to but the wolf is under the surface and it’s not backing down Luke.”

“You said she wouldn’t just shift someday,” Luke said carefully and his father shook his head. 

“Not without a  _ good reason _ . But she nearly did it yesterday,” his father answered tightly. “She was  **_ shaking _ ** with it, Luke. I was half expecting to have my hands full with a very angry, very furious newbie werewolf,” his father said drily. 

“So I should try to talk her into it,” Luke surmised grimly. Fuck. 

He didn’t want to influence her like that. If it was about what he wanted…then he would have her shift weeks ago, as soon as her injuries that Kyle had inflicted had healed. 

But she had been…terrified about the idea of that and he hadn’t wanted to push her. He hadn’t wanted to upset that fragile balance the two of them had struck of her willing to slowly let herself fall in the place that he was offering for her. 

Every time when the two of them had the time to be more…physically intimate, it calmed a piece of it. She was so hesitant but always so willing to trust him to give herself over to him and he never wanted something more but to just hold. 

“If you can. I would prefer her to shift in calm surroundings the first times,” his father said calmly and Luke just nodded. That would go great. “And you’ll need to be the one to draw out the wolf.”

He had expected that. Really there was just one way how he could probably draw the wolf to the surface and it probably wouldn’t be especially pretty for Daphne. The first time never was for most wolves. 

A few minutes later, he was driving over to the Hyde’s taking the 5 minutes to sort out his thoughts.

The cabin in the woods had been in the family for a few decades at that point. It was upstate in the forest, surrounded by nothing but acres of family property. His father had slowly started to buy more and more of the forest around their house and in the state, giving their pack room to roam without needing to worry about other people. Not a lot of people went up there and it gave them something that Luke and Daphne could get nearly nowhere else: Privacy. It was only an hour away from their home, but it would give them complete and utter  _ privacy _ . 

The cabin was near to a couple of hot springs, something that Luke and his sister had grown up playing in, in both forms a lot of the times and really…that was something that Luke really enjoyed and wanted to share with Daphne. 

It would do them a world of good to get away for a little while. 

Daphne opened the door before he could even knock, throwing herself in his arms, her hands clutching on to him like he could go disappear any moment. 

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Her voice was terrified, her hands searching over his body and he caught them before they could make contact with the bruises on his ribs, pulling them to his mouth and pressing a kiss against her knuckles. 

“I am fine, sweetheart, I promise,” he soothed her, reaching out to touch her cheek and press a kiss against her forehead. “Good Morning, Birthday Girl,” he greeted her, allowing himself to dip down and press a kiss against her lips. Just as always, she immediately opened up underneath him, welcoming his tongue into her mouth. There was no trace of hesitation in her kiss, nothing that told him that she was scared of him.

If anything she was clinging to him even more desperately than usual. It shouldn’t have surprised him but it did nonetheless. If they were a mated pair, if they had a completed bond between them then both their reaction after a challenge to their bond like yesterday would have been to refresh the bonding. In other words…both would have sought out the other for physical comfort and a new mating bite. 

There was a reason why he had spent the night away from her. Luke hadn’t trusted himself around Daphne, not when he knew that she would do everything to keep him from leaving. And a simple kiss wouldn’t have been enough. He didn’t allow himself to imagine that. He didn’t because then he would have wanted to know desperately how much better reality would be than fantasy and he had promised her time. He wouldn’t pressure her. Not ever. 

“I missed you,” she whispered at that moment, tucking her face underneath his chin, her hands clenching in the back of his jacket. “I am sorry about yesterday.”

“Don’t be. That’s all on Harrison,” Luke promised her gently. He was floored that there was no trace of fear in her scent, nothing at all that that told him that she was scared of him. Even when he had shifted and gotten ready to rip somebody’s throat out the day before. 

“Are we still going ice-skating?” She asked him hesitantly, still not letting him go. 

“That depends on you,” he answered her lightly. “We can do that…or we can do something else if you want…I had an idea this morning,” he told her and she nodded her agreement. She still clung to him, but she finally let him go. She immediately started crossing her arms, hugging herself though, something that was her tell whenever 

He wanted to take her. He wanted to steal that few hours away from her before he would need to share her with the rest of her family. 

“Of course, I want to go with you,” Daphne exclaimed. “But…somewhere without a lot of people would be good…” she admitted hesitantly and he nodded. 

“Nobody else would be there. Just the two of us,” he promised her. Her face lit up at that. 

“Do I need anything?” She asked him. 

“Dry clothing and a swimsuit.”

“A swimsuit? I am not getting in the ocean!” She protested loudly and Luke could just laugh. 

“I promise, you aren’t going to go in the ocean.” Even when that could be fun for them as well, even Luke wouldn’t do that in January. 

Come March, that would be a different story. 

***

Daphne packed the one sole bikini she actually owned, which she only had because Grace had given it to her a few months prior when she had bought it online and it hadn’t fitted her at all. 

It wasn’t exactly anything Daphne could even think about feeling comfortable in, but it was better than nothing.

She was unable but to grin at the huge wingback chair that was now tucked in one corner of her room, a birthday present of Caroline and Matthew who had let the chair be upholstered in navy velvet to match her wall mural and padded downstairs to ding Luke in the kitchen, talking to Caroline and Ollie. 

“You two have fun,” her aunt told her with a grin. “And be back by 6, we’ll have dinner this evening. And Chocolate Cake.”

The drive took them only around 45 minutes and Luke held her hand throughout that. She had been thoroughly spoiled with breakfast that morning, and there had been the promise of dinner and cake that evening with her family and the extended Schuyler’s so Daphne was very much on board with sneaking off for a few hours with Luke. 

And they needed to have a bit fo a talk. 

The car slowed down and as she looked out of the window she was startled to see that they were right in the midst of a clearing. 

“Where are we?”

“My family owns a cabin up here. I thought…we could steal some time away,” Luke told her softly and she leaned over the middle console to press a kiss to his lips. 

“That doesn’t explain the swimsuit though,” Daphne told him questioningly but he just grinned on her. 

“Let’s get the stuff inside and I’ll show it to you.” 

Hot Springs were the answer to the swimsuit questions. There were a few tucked right at the back of the cabin and she could just stare at the hot water that was so hot that the steam went everywhere. 

It was bitingly cold outside but Luke didn’t seem to have a problem with that, not when he started undressing as soon as they were near it. She couldn’t help but stare for a moment, when he pulled his dark green henley over his body, showing off acres of golden skin to her. 

“Gonna come inside as well?” He asked her amused and she brought out a shaky nod, her cheeks bright red as she undressed, unable not to shiver at the cold air. 

She quickly stepped into the hot, slightly sulfurous water, surprising by how warm it was. It seemed to seep into every one of her pores, warming her from within and she sank lower as soon as she could, tilting her head back and sighing in pleasure as the hot water permeated her scalp. 

“Come over and sit with me?” Luke invited her, his voice coming from her right but she just sighed again, not wanting to move even a little bit as she stared up into the sky, sunlight breaching the thick canopy that the trees gave them. 

“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed and she could hear him chuckle as she felt the water sift, suddenly him next to her. 

He pulled her against his chest, warm and hard against her skin and she couldn’t help but shiver as she felt the naked skin on her own, the water sliding between them. 

The steam around them was thick and shielding them from everything but the trees and the sky but even when that wasn’t there, she trusted Luke when he told her that nobody would interrupt them. 

He pulled her with him to the edge of the hot springs, able to sit on a ledge and pulling her weight upon his lap, surprising her. She squeaked as suddenly she straddled him, shivering even when the warmth of the water was surrounding him and looking at him wide-eyed. 

He was warm as well, she realised, feeling the corded muscles between her legs, unable not to swallow when she recognised that that position…if they were ready for more, that would be a pretty good way to achieve that.

She took a deep breath, needing to find her bravery again as she finally placed her hands on his shoulder, when he met her eyes unapologetically, a hand reaching out to smooth wet hair from her face and pulling her to kiss him again. 

She loved it when he kissed her. It gave her a feeling of peace so few things gave her and it made a warmth grow and twist low in her belly that made it difficult to think. It moved through her like slow molasses, slow stroking of a fire that was burning inside her, and that just made her want more. Always more. Luke could never stop to kiss her and it would never be enough. 

She moaned against him, opening her mouth against his, her nails biting in his shoulder. She felt the hitch in bis breath more than she heard it, but it was enough to give her pause, to make her blood cool a little from the kisses and made her pull back. 

There were bruises running from his shoulder down the complete left side of his body, a few scratches thrown in there as well for good measure. 

She hadn’t noticed them before, her eyes had been staring at the muscled wall of his stomach and not high up on his shoulder. 

“What happened?” She brought out tonelessly, unable to not reach out and skim her fingertips over the colourful bruises dotting her boyfriend’s body. “When?”

“Yesterday night,” Luke answered calmly. “It’s fine. They’ll be gone by this evening.”

“…he did that to you?” She whispered. Harrison?

“He looks far worse than I do, Sweetheart,” Luke said with a soft pleased smile. He was nearly preening for a moment before he caught himself. Not that Daphne could fault him. Knowing that Luke had beat that guy up was surprisingly pleasing to know. “I let him get a hit in, but I scratched the hell out of him,” Luke explained. “All down there.”

He ran his hand down Daphne’s side, from the height of the band of her bikini all the way down to just over her hip. 

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes pulled back to the technicolored skin on his shoulder. 

“I never wanted you to get hurt because of me, Luke,” she whispered. That was the last things she wanted. She wanted them to be happy. A peaceful life. No more drama.

“I didn’t get hurt because of you. I got hurt because I wanted to sink my claws into Harrison to make myself very clear,” Luke clarified. “And that’s what I  **_ did _ ** …” he added darkly. 

“I didn’t want you to need to do that either,” Daphne sighed but didn’t start an argument about it.

There was a part of her…that was unreasonably pleased about Luke marking her as his territory. She wondered if that was the wolf. If it was preening under her skin at that moment like Luke had been, pleased that Harrison Michaels got what he deserved, that her mate had won the fight and drawn blood. That was something that scared the fuck out of Daphne. 

“It’s okay,” he soothed her, pressing a kiss against her temple and she allowed herself to grow pliant underneath his hands, letting him hug her to his chest.

“Is there no part of you that is actually pleased about it?” Luke asked her curiously. “Because that would be  _ normal _ . Werewolves get… **_ territorial _ ** . I had a right to make myself clear to Harrison and that’s exactly what I did. And I am probably far too pleased about that, but I expected that,” Luke told her seriously, and Daphne dropped her forehead to his shoulder, hiding her face against his neck. For a moment she wondered if she had just imagined the shudder that went through Luke’s body at that as she finally answered, just enjoyed the feeling of the slick skin underneath her cheek, his hands on her back. 

“I…I don’t like that you got hurt…but I am  _ pleased _ about you marking your territory and…protecting me…protecting us,” she brought out hesitantly. 

“That’s normal, sweetheart,” Luke said to her with a smile. “There’ll be a day when you’ll want to mark your territory as well.”

“And how will I do that?” She asked him interested, seeing how Luke seemingly tried desperately not seem affected by whatever got through his mind. 

That…seeing that he wanted her, that she affected him enough to make him scramble for words, Luke who was normally always so in control with everything…that was doing things to her that made her regret even wearing a bikini at all. 

“Scent Sharing for once,” Luke finally said. “Repeating the Claiming Bite…”

Nothing she could do right now though. But she could do one thing.

She leaned down to press a kiss against the edge of the bruises on top of his shoulder, resulting in a soft gasp from Luke. “Is this okay?” She asked him hesitantly. 

“Of course, it is, Sweetheart,” he agreed. He pulled her up nevertheless, pressing another kiss to her mouths her tongues tangling, her hands in his hair when she gasped against him. God. Daphne would happily do that for the rest of her life. 

“Birthday Girl…“ he finally said, his full mouth pulled in a smile. “You know I had other things planned before  **_ that _ ** . ”

She used her other hand to pinch him in the rips, on the side that wasn’t covered in technicolour bruises and Luke laughed at that, catching her hand and pulling it to his mouth, pressing a kiss there. 

“Be  **_ nice _ ** , or I am not going to give you your present,” he threatened her, still laughing. He grew serious then though, kissing her one more time, nipping her bottom lip with her teeth, surprising her. “ _ Later _ ,” he promised her. Daphne couldn’t help but shiver at the tone of his voice 

“I wasn’t aware that I am getting something,” she teased him, unable to keep her stomach from flip-flopping at these news. Really that wasn’t what Daphne had expected. She thought this here was her present. 

“I think I would be a  **_ terrible _ ** boyfriend if I didn’t get you  _ anything  _ to your birthday,” Luke answered easily. “Close your eyes for me?” He requested and she did as he asked, but not before placing her hands on his shoulder again, needing at least that to ground her as she sat in darkness, not a wall to her back. 

Sometimes things hit her and she became scared of unreasonable things. Like the time she accidentally smashed a glass in the sink when she washed dishes. 

She had stood there, bleeding under to hot water for more than a minute before she had finally been able to breathe again and fish out the shards out of the hot water. She had heard Michelle’s voice in her head like she was still alive, had hears it scold her for being a child that couldn’t even do one thing right. 

**_ No _ ** . Daphne was not going down that road again. 

She took a deep breath as she felt Luke’s muscles shift underneath her touch, as his hands finally touched neck, sliding up from her breastbone and she could just shiver as his hands went around the back of her neck. A small weight pressed against her body a moment later. 

A  **_ necklace _ ** ?

“Open your eyes,” he asked gently. And she did as he requested, her hands going to her throat, finding a delicate gold chain around her neck, the tips of her fingers sliding along until they found the pendant that she lifted to take a good look at it. 

There were two pendants. A tiny little star, smaller than even an ear of rice corn. A little stone set in the middle of it. And a bigger crescent moon, the same stones set into the shape of it. 

“I thought a long time about what to get you, you know?” Luke told her softly. “I thought about giving you a wolf. But that would be a bit too obvious…so I thought I would go with a moon and a star. They won’t ever be as beautiful as you are but…I like the idea that you have something from me, wherever you are.”

“They are perfect,” Daphne whispered. So perfect. “Thank you, Luke.” 

This time it was her that kissed him fiercely, that decided that they were teenagers and alone and maybe they should finally behave like that for once. 

So she kissed him. She allowed her hands to slide beneath the water surface, to catalog the acres of golden skin that were stretched over hard muscles, to feel every ridge and shudder that went through him as she kissed him. 

Hers. He was  **_ hers _ ** . 

It wasn’t that Luke did nothing while she touched him. He slipped one hand high er up her back, finding the fastening of the bikini she wore, opening it. It ended up somewhere behind him as she gasped when he touched her naked breast, these far too clever fingers finding the nub that grew hard under his attentions in seconds.

Every touch stroked fire and Daphne couldn’t help but moan in his mouth, couldn’t help but gasp as she slipped as near as she could to him, leaning forward and feeling him, rock hard and thick press against her. It startled her for a moment, enough time that it gave both of them time to cool and realised that maybe…maybe inside would be a better place to do this. 

“Do you want to stop?” Luke brought out, his voice hoarse, but she shook her head. 

“No.” She answered honestly. “There is a bed inside, isn’t there?” She asked him, cocking her head to the side, feeling surprisingly brave for once. 

He didn’t answer, instead, he fished her bikini top from somewhere behind him, giving it to her. He helped her off his lap first, and she climbed out of the hot water, immediately regretting it and cursing because the mountain air hadn’t suddenly become warm and tropical. 

“Inside, now,” she demanded because she had  **_ plans _ ** and none of them involved freezing to death when there was a perfectly fine house just a few feet away. 

Luke seemed far too amused about the whole thing though. 

They got inside, where it was thankfully noticeable warmer and the inside of the cabin quite reminded Daphne of Luke’s small house back at the Schuyler, the converted barn that was now his. 

She got dry, thanks to the towels that Luke brought along and also thankfully warmer when the fire was roaring to life in the fireplace and Luke scattered far too many pillows and blankets he had brought on the floor in front of that. Just like the time the two of them had been supposed to have their first date and she had been too tired for that, now she crawled underneath a blanket, throwing away the towel she had been wrapped around and waited when Luke was searching for even more pillows. 

She couldn’t help but suddenly feel self-conscious about her nakedness even when she knew it was…

Luke had never said anything that gave her a reason to be self-conscious. 

She startled when he slid on the floor next to her, his warmth permeating inside the blanket she had cocooned herself into. 

“Hey,” he whispered before he kissed her, his hand gently sliding down her side, and Daphne knew the moment when he realized that she was bare and his to touch as his hand rested on her ship. 

“You aren’t…” he started, looking at her with wide eyes and she shook her head, biting her lips. 

He groaned as he crashed his lips to hers again, his mouth demanding hers to open, to give up everything, as he pushed her down on her back and she pulled him on top of her. 

“You’ll be the death of me, sweetheart,” he breathed against her neck, pressing his mouth against her pulse point and she couldn’t help but whine at the touch, something deep inside her twisting at his touch.

She was drunk on his touch, as he pressed his chest to hers, nothing between them, her nails biting against his shoulders as he kissed her.

He kissed down her clavicle, to the middle of her chest, her skin feeling overly sensitive when his cheek rubbed against it, his stubble managing to rush goosebumps all over her.

He caught her nipple in his mouth a second later, molten warm rushing underneath her skin concentrating there, resulting in a garbled moan escaping her throat. 

He continued with it, his hand coming up to touching the other breast that his mouth neglected, plucking the tight peak until Daphne was twisting her hands in the blankets underneath herself, her hips trying to roll up against him and groaning in frustration when she came up against nothing. 

“Turn around,” Luke suddenly said, his bulk disappearing from her. 

“Why?” She asked, pouting because they had been getting somewhere and he laughed softly at her expression.

“Because otherwise, this is gonna be over before it has even started, Daphne,” he told her honestly, helping her roll over so that her back was too his front and she couldn’t help but shudder when she felt  **_ him  _ ** pressed against the small of her back, the sheer size of him startling her. That was…

She wriggled back against him experimentally, resulting in Luke cursing and laughing into her neck. 

“Shh, sweetheart, have a  _ little _ patience,” he teased her and suddenly she knew why he wanted her like that. There was no way she could do anything but wriggle against him when his arms were banded around her like two steel bands. 

Maybe it should have scared her, but it didn’t. 

If anything it made her…want more. More and more and  **_ more _ ** . 

He plucked her nipple again, throwing her right back into wanting nothing more but press against him again and again.

He pressed a messy kiss to the top of her head as one hand continued his torture of giving her too much and not enough at the same time as his other hand ran from her ribcage down to her hips, then to the front of her belly. She held her breath as it came nearer and near to where she wanted him to touch her, as she wanted to feel him touch her.

“Yes?” He asked her gently, his hand inching downwards to the apex of her thighs. 

“Yes, please, Luke,” she brought out. She didn’t want to be embarrassed. He was her mate, this was normal, right? 

But still…she had never even kissed a boy before she met Luke and now…

The first touch was like an electric shock to her system. It wasn’t painful, not at all. It was nothing more than the whisper of touch when his hand touched her for the first time, just gently touching the bare skin. 

She kept herself shaved, she just preferred it that way, and right now the skin was damp and puffy with her want.

Maybe that explained the sensitivity, maybe that explained the startling moan that bubbled out of her throat, the way her hips twitched to search out his touch, the  **_ want _ ** that shot through her.

“Tell me what you like, Sweetheart?” Luke whispered as his fingers slid lower, now actually exploring her slit, dipping in and out, not deep, never deep. 

She hadn’t ever expected the feeling his fingers on her, touching sliding over swollen and damp flesh. Like Daphne was touching a livewire. She couldn’t stop herself from clutching Lukes arm that was banded underneath her chest, couldn’t help the high keening sound escaping her throat. 

He pressed her forward into the blankets, her legs opening to give him easy access as his fingers slid between her folds. She allowed herself to become pliant in his grasp, to let him push her body towards something that he knew exactly how to get and Daphne had no idea where it was going 

She leaned her head back against him, catching his mouth in a bruising kiss, gasping, when the feeling of touching a livewire, became more. He had found her clit, right at the apex of her thighs, gently nudging the small bundle of nerves that shot pleasure right up her spine as she gasped.

“Good?” Luke asked, receding but she grasped his hand, bringing it right back there. 

Another time she would have been embarrassed that she was behaving like that. That she was mindlessly chasing her own release like that, but Luke seemed very much on board, letting her pull his hand back where she wanted it, his thumb passing the small bundle, again and again, her hips twitching in time with his passing as the pleasure concentrated to something  _ more _ . 

The heat seemed to concentrate there, a pulsing sensation to the beat of her heart when Luke rolled it between his fingers. She was unable not to press up against his hand, being rewarded with a growl in her ear and his arms clapped down onto her and she couldn’t help but shiver, the growl something she needed. 

She needed more of that. More. More. 

He would ruin her with pleasure, wouldn’t he? She thought as he continued to circle that nub, as he slid his fingers through her wetness, and finally slid one thick finger inside her, a weird sensation that she twisted her hips against him, resulting in another growl. 

He changed his grip on her, making it possible for him to be inside her and rub her clit at the same time, the dual sensation, nearly, nearly too much for her to take as she gasped for breath but Luke was not letting off. 

Her hips tried to twist out of his grasp again, a sob escaping her as she didn’t know if she wanted more or wanted him to stop. 

Another growl from him, more of his bulk pressing her into the sheets. He was surrounding her, owning her, branding her if the feel of his arms were any indication. 

“Will you come for me, Daphne?” He growled into her ear, a shiver overcoming her at that and she shuddered, opening her mouth to answer, as suddenly his touch changed to something more, the thumb pressing over her clit calmly as he had done before suddenly flicking it and the one finger being replaced with two. 

And then there was just one growl, a kiss against her pulsing neck. “Come.” Nothing more than a silken order that she couldn’t help but follow. 

The pleasure sharpened to a nearly blinding sensation as her body convulsed, her muscles contracting around his, her mouth opening to scream and the one thing coming out a godless moan. It rippled through her in waves crashing to the shore, so much and not enough, the pleasure leaving her in its wake. 

He would kill her with pleasure, she was certain of that, when she gasped for breath, Luke’s name the first thing on her lips when she felt like she could breathe again. 

He pulled her against him, rocking her like a child, turning her so that he could hold her properly, their chests pressed together. She gasped for breath, hiding her head against his shoulder for a moment. 

“Okay?” He asked her gently and she nodded, suddenly unable to keep the smile from her face. She looked up at him, leaning up to press a kiss against his lips, her whole body still pleasantly tingling. 

“Teach me. Teach me how I can do that for you.”

***

He hadn’t expected that. If anything he had been worried that he had pushed too much from her when he had pushed her right down into that bed when he been unable to take it slow and instead made her come all over him and his hands. 

She had come near wordlessly, shudder after shudder wracking her delicate little frame, the only thing that finally came from her his name. 

And wasn’t that a soothing thing. 

His wolf was bloody preening, deciding that he had done everything right if there made was absolutely wracked with pleasure. 

She looked at him, valet eyes all big and earnest and he had no idea how to explain to her that her touch would probably be all he needed to come all over himself. 

“You don’t need to,” he answered instead, wanting to slap himself when her face fell. “I mean… I don’t want you to feel like you are required to…” he broke off as she raised one eyebrow at him, her hand smoothing down over his chest, leaving him shuddering. 

“I know that,” she told him. “I  **_ want _ ** to.”

So he nodded. Because he could never tell her no. Not daphne, not his mate, not when she looked at him that earnestly. 

Her hands were small and soft and while he could feel them shake, she grapes him with far more enthusiasm than he expected. He bit back a groan as his cock seemed to jump into her hand, a gasp coming from her and he opened his eyes, expecting her to look scared. She didn’t. Her eyes had taken a near glassy sheen as she stared at him for a moment before she finally slipped down, grasping him tighter and he bit back another curse at finally having her hands wrapped around him. 

“Luke…you’ll need to tell me if I do this right,” she warned him as she grasped him, her hands going up and down and he could feel that it would take much. 

“You do,” he brought out, biting his lips as he breathed harshly, the pleasure dancing along his spine. 

“Daphne, I won’t need much,” he wanted her, his voice sounding garbled too his own ears, but Daphne just smiled at him. 

“That’s okay,” she soothed him, her other hand coming up to gently pull her towards her. “You want me to continue this or…”

He wanted nothing more than to come all over her, to be honest. Scent marking. There was no more potent smell than that. Even if they showered, they wouldn’t be able to get rid of it.

“I feel like I want you to come like this,” Daphne breathed out, sliding even closer to him, his cock leaking between them, making a mess out of the sheets and her stomach. 

“Yes, God, yes, “ he agreed and she kissed him, this time her taking the lead for once and he let her, happily giving himself over to her and she continued her movements of slowly driving him insane. But then suddenly she sped up and he pressed even nearer to her, wanting his seed to be all over her when he broke. He grabbed her hand in his own suddenly, pushing it in a fist he could thrust into and she gasped in surprise when it took him trusting once, twice, thrice, before he came all over them both. 

He needed a moment until he felt like he could actually feel his limbs again until he could breathe again. 

Daphne was there, holding him tightly to her, murmuring soft words of nothing, and he pressed a kiss to whatever he could reach, what turned out her shoulder. 

“We made a bit of a mess,” she told him, biting her lip as he opened his eyes finally. 

That was an understatement. His scent hung onto her like a thick and cloying blanket, the smell of sugar intermixing with his own into something that smelled…utterly perfect.

He had wanted to roll around in her scent before and now he had clearly managed that. 

“It’s fine,” he promised her, taking a deep breath of her hair, all citrusy and perfect. 

“Did you just sniff me?” She asked him incredulously and he grinned unabashedly.

“Yes. And you shouldn’t say anything, you suggested me coming all over you, werewolf,” he teased her, resulting in her cheeks tinting bright red. 

“Can you smell us?” She asked him curiously and he raised his eyebrow at her. 

“Can’t you?” He challenged her. “You are just as much of a werewolf as I am, Sweetheart.”

“I don’t use my senses as you do,” she defended herself. No, she didn’t. And that was one of the problems. 

“That’s because you see the whole werewolf thing as nothing more than a burden,” he answered, more sharply than intended. 

“I don’t,” Daphne exclaimed. “It’s not a burden.  **_ You _ ** are not a burden.”

It soothed something in him to have her acknowledge that. 

“I don’t know what to do with them,” she finally admitted. “They just get overwhelming.” 

He could understand that. For her..somehow that wasn’t used to it like he and Grace were, that could get overwhelming quickly. 

“Your senses…they can be a luxury if you allow yourself to use them in the right circumstances,” he promised her instead. She looked at him like she didn’t believe a word he said but Luke could deal with that. 

“Close your eyes. What does it smell like?” He asked her, waiting until she did as he asked. She relayed against him as he let his hand rub down her back, pressing against them like an overgrown cat. 

“Forest. Sulphour…outside,” she finally answered with a sigh. 

“And here?” He continued, wanting her to smell  **_ them _ ** .

“Oceanbreeze…that’s you…something…warmer, muskier, more…wild,” Daphne said after a moment but then her nose scrunched up and he couldn’t help but laugh at her expression. 

“Burnt sugar?” She asked. “Weird, something…fruity…and really sweet.”

“That’s you,” he said with a grin. 

“I smell this sweet to you?” Daphne exclaimed with a shudder. “That’s terrible.”

“You smell perfect,” he disagreed. “All sugary and sweet.”

She let that stand, leaning against his chest for a moment in her own little world. He didn’t interrupt her, happy to hold her for a moment. He ran his hands through her still damp her, working out the tangles, until her voice interrupted him. 

“I…I want to try,” she said softly, her voice hesitant. He didn’t stop his hands from running through her, even when something in his chest pulled together nearly painfully from something akin to both fear and ridiculous, completely overwhelmed happiness. 

“Try what?” He asked her, trying desperately to make his voice sound idle like he didn’t really care about her answer, even if that was a huge lie. 

_“I want to shift.”_


	28. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you get icky from Wolves hunting deers then you probably shouldn't read Luke's sections.

**_ Change is inevitable but transformation is by conscious choice. _ **

_ Heather Ash Amara _

“You know, if you ever wanna scare a girl, this is a great way to do that. Just drag her to some weird barn…thing,” Daphne said, voice filled with false bravado as she trotted alongside Luke into one of the many, many buildings on the Schuyler’s property. Daphne really wondered what they even used half of them for. 

The one they were entering in question, was empty, the floor covered with some mixture of hay and other trampled hard ground and Daphne couldn’t help but flinch when another howl of wind ripped through the air. 

Nobody had allowed her to back out of her agreement of finally shifting, and so it was the day after her birthday, icy cold outside and Daphne was already regretting agreeing. She wouldn’t pull back now, but she couldn’t help the fear in the pit of her stomach that was there and growing and growing with every minute. 

Would she turn into a cold-blooded killing machine when she finally shifted?

Luke’s wolf was content to be nothing more than a lapdog to her most of the time, sleeping in front of her bed and while Daphne wasn’t scared of him  _ (She wasn’t. She never had been) _ , she would have been stupid not to recognise the strength that was behind these gleaming white teeth and the muscles that covered his body. When he had jumped after Harrison that had given her a peek at what an angry Luke in his wolf form looked like and that was not something that Daphne wanted to see again. He had been…majestic in his anger though, something that had given her pause. 

She wondered belatedly if that was her bond talking, the same piece of her that had been totally on board with Luke protecting her from any bond interference. 

Right now Luke seemed admittedly very amused while she was crossing her arms and glaring at him. 

“Why are we here?” She finally asked with a sigh. “Shouldn’t we be outside? You know, somewhere where the whole wolfing out thing happens?” She asked him snottily, resulting in Luke chuckling while he looked through the big barn doors that were still open. 

“Because  _ I _ don’t want to stand around in the cold outside,” Stephen Schuyler finally answered her seriously. 

Fair enough. 

“And we are not doing in inside the house, because I just got the Chair Rail done in the living room downstairs, and the last time we had somebody change in there, he ruined the whole downstairs area.” It was obvious that Luke’s father was  _ still _ annoyed with that person. 

“It was 8 years ago and it was Sebastian,” Luke answered her unasked question. “He took apart the new sofa. It…took a little while before Christian got me out of the house." 

“You mean when my brother threw his mate bodily through a window so that he would stop running berserk in our house,” Stephen clarified drily. “No windows to jump through here.” 

“And if you go running, Daphne, please do us the favour and go into the forest? Otherwise, I am gonna have another discussion with the Major about there not being any wolves running around on my property but it being just a few overgrown dogs,” Stephen requested with a sigh. 

“That works?” She asked him, unable to believe that they actually kept the humans in Fairbury in the dark with excuses like that.

“Most of the time,” Luke’s father told her with a shrug. Daphne somehow didn’t want to know what happened the rest of the time. 

“So how does it…work?” She finally asked with a sigh. There was no reason to procrastinate anymore. She would get to meet her wolf before the day ended, and trying to get away from that wouldn’t help anybody. 

“You can try to meditate and pull your wolf to the surface that way,” Stephen told her, grinning as she pulled a face at that. Thanks but no. “We can make you really upset until she comes up to protect you but…I don’t think that will work for you.”

“Or we’ll let Luke have a go at it,” Stephen finally suggested. Her wolf  _ had _ only decided to come up that one time and that had been when Luke and she had been decisively intimate. 

“I won’t hurt him, right?” Daphne asked softly. “Because if I hurt him, I won’t do it.” 

Then they would need to figure out another way. They would figure out a way. Maybe they should try to make her as upset as possible…maybe that would help. She didn’t even want to know how that could be accomplished. 

“You won’t hurt him in any way if he protects himself,” Stephen answered carefully and she raised an eyebrow at that. 

“And will he do that?” She asked Luke pointedly who in turn was pointedly ignoring her and looking everywhere but at her. 

“That depends on the situation. I would gladly take a few bruises if that means that my wife is comforted,” Stephen gave back drily. “I can promise you however that whatever happens, the bruises he gets are going to be healed in two days. 

“Fine,” she finally agreed but not without another look at Luke, who was finally meeting her gaze, unapologetic. “Don’t be stupid,” she requested, but she already knew that that wouldn't help anything if the need arose. 

He nodded his agreement though and she took another deep breath, trying to quench the nerves in her stomach. 

It didn’t feel fine. Not really. Not even when Luke sat down right where he had stood, holding out his arms for her.

She straddled him, trying desperately not to think about what they had done in that position a day ago and ignoring his father and her aunt that stood just a few steps away. It didn’t work, but then Luke was there, touching her face, and pulling her down until her head rested again his chest, his heartbeat filling her ears. 

She tried to concentrate on that, tried to make herself relax. She didn’t want to fear the wolf that was slumbering within her. She didn’t want to…be at odds with her for the rest of her life. 

“Relax, sweetheart,” Luke whispered, his big hands rubbing down her back, their heat palpable even under the thin tank top she wore. 

She wore leggings and a tank top because her clothing would be ripped apart through the transformation and she hadn’t wanted to sacrifice anything else for that.

“What will you do?” She asked Luke finally, trying to keep her breathing slow and even, taking to heart the whole spiel about relaxing and not fighting the transformation she had gotten from Stephen beforehand. 

“I am going to touch your wolf,” Luke answered drily. 

“That sounds like both kinky and unfortunate all at once,” Daphne blurted out, unable to help herself. 

**_ Seriously _ ** ?

Luke chuckled as he pulled her against her chest. 

“It will be fine,” he promised her, brushing a kiss against her hair. “She was  _ always _ there, you know? Slumbering away underneath your skin. Always there to protect you. She took the edge off any pain you ever had…she made you heal faster, faster than most humans. She made it possible for you to  **_ survive _ ** .” 

A part of Daphne wondered absentmindedly if Luke had really changed her when he had bitten her. Or if he had only awoken something that had always been within her. She couldn’t remember if there was a moment that she met her wolf before, but a few memories were teasing at the edges of her mind that made her think that maybe Luke was a lot more right than she had thought before. 

“She was the reason why you  **_ survived _ ** , Daphne. She is nothing to fear, she won’t hurt you,” Luke said quietly. “But I think you should  **_ really _ ** let her out to play one of these days…”

She could feel the shifting and twisting sensation in her chest, the warm there, the heat, the pressure. Daphne had always pushed back against that feeling, forced it down and down and down. 

** Not today.  **

This time she forced herself to relax and do nothing, to trust Luke. 

“I know you are there, honey,” he whispered, his voice dipping to something that Daphne had never heard him use before. “Will you come out to  **_ play _ ** ? Because your  **_ mate _ ** is looking forward to meeting you.”

It went quickly and slowly all at once, the heat exploding from her chest, encompassing her. It didn’t hurt. That was true. Nobody had lied about that. 

It felt like her body was pressed on from every angle and side until something broke free. And then suddenly it wasn’t her body anymore. Not  _ really _ . 

It was but it  **_ wasn’t _ ** . 

She hit her feet as nearly 200 pounds of snow-white wolf and promptly managed to have a freakout because that was Luke’s voice. In her  **_ head _ ** . 

_ *There you are,  _ **_ sweetheart _ ** _ * _

It was like a knife into her brain, the feeling so foreign and weird that she could do nothing but scramble away from him, the screams of horror resulting in short high howls leaving her mouth…her snout. 

Her hind legs hit the wall of the barn and she stared around, more hysterical noises leaving her throat, even when she could feel the edges of her brain flittering, could feel the instincts that told her to run, to get away, not to  **_ stay _ ** .

She couldn’t fight, so running was the next best option. Especially if confronted with somebody much  **_ bigger _ ** and much  **_ stronger _ ** than her, a black wolf that stood a few feet away from her, his whole body thrumming with excitement his tail thumping the floor. 

** What ** was he excited about,  ** why ** was he  **_ excited _ ** ? There was nothing to be excited about…other than  **_ her. _ **

Fight or Flight?

For Daphne, the flight response won out immediately. 

So she ran. 

Straight into the forest.

She could still feel the words in her brain but didn’t understand the meaning anymore. She still knew that she was human at least a bit. She still knew she was Daphne but she was so much more than that. 

Everything seemed so much more. 

The smell of the forest surrounded her, the ocean breeze rippling throughout the firs, the fresh snow that had only fallen the day before when they had had dinner at the Schuylers. She smelled the animal's movement through the forest, she smelt somehting…good. 

She heard the sound of paws behind her, something that only resulted in her trying to be even quicker, the trees nothing more than smudges in her peripheral vision. As a human, she would have been scared to hit something at that speed that she was going. In her wolf form, the only thing her instincts told her was to get away. Far, far away from whatever was chasing her. 

She jumped over a tree that had fallen down, the feeling of four paws hitting the ground both weird and natural all at the same time. 

And as she ran, as the forest turned darker and as she recognised that she had no idea where she was, she faltered. 

And that was all the other wolf needed. The impact of him catching here, of all of him boring down onto her, knocked the air out of Daphne. 

It was a terrifying feeling when she tried to fight against the weight, failing and became more hysterical with the second. 

* _ Stop it _ .* A voice ordered sharply, razor-sharp teeth just inches away from her throat, resulting in a high whine leaving her snout.  _ *Stop running, sweetheart. It’s okay, it’s me.* _

Luke. It was Luke. She fought against him again, but the terror in her chest eased. Now she was pissed off. 

_ *There’s nowhere to go, I’ll just catch you again, you know that* _ Luke’s voice sounded amused even in its disembodied state and she managed to get a hit against his ribcage in. 

A sharp growl left his throat, a warning, the teeth scoring against her throat and her body grew lax at the sound of his growl. She couldn#t help the heat that as suddenly pooling in her body, couldn’t help that suddenly she realised exactly how they were sprawled onto that forest floor. 

Another sharp growl was all it took for her to bare her throat to him, trying to appease him. 

_ *There you go, sweetheart,* _ he cooed. 

She recognised what she had done near immediately, her brain jumping around and trying too figure out how she found this…good. It was good. Feeling his weight bearing down onto her, feeling his dominance over her…it felt good. 

**_ Alpha _ ** . 

Now she understood. 

His bulk disappeared from her, but she didn’t move for a moment, trying to order her thought, still trembling from that revelation. 

She stood up carefully, shaking out the snow from her fir. For the first time, Daphne caught a glimpse of her own bright white fur. 

She looked at Luke, who somehow seemed even more intimidating than usual, with fur that was glossy black, no white to see anywhere. 

_ *Back with us, Daphne?* _ Luke asked her gently. 

_ *YES?!* _ Her thoughts were obviously too loud for him if his startling was anything to go by. 

_ *Sweetheart, you can stop mentally screaming at me,*  _ her mate told her amused and suddenly Daphne had the desire to tackle him in the snow and have a talk with him. 

_ *NO; I CAN’T. IN ALL YOUR WEREWOLF 101 LECTURES YOU NEVER MENTIONED THAT YOU COULD TALK WITH YOUR  _ **_ BRAIN _ ** _!* _

***

To his never-ending amusement, Daphne as a wolf was the most adorable thing ever. Not even Thalia held a candle to a ball of fluffy white fur, with a glossy black nose and big round amber eyes, her tail nearly swishing constantly. She was also having far too much fun running around like newly born cub, jumping over trees and trying to climb the same. 

He couldn’t make her stop, not when her childlike joy was so obvious that it was nearly palpable. 

Nor could the rest of the pack. 

Oliver had taken one look at her and had burst out laughing, telling her that he had never met a wolf where their outer appearance fit the person within so perfectly. Daphne’s reaction to that had resulted in her doing her best scary expression and trying to snarl, which had promptly resulted in her coughing loudly. 

But right now, he was watching how she was trying to drink from the river, her pink tongue darting out and slobbering the cold and crystal clear water all over her own fur. 

It didn’t seem like she cared at all at the moment.”

_ *She is doing pretty well,* _ Grace commented.  _ *I don’t think we had anybody that…enthusiastic in quite a few years.* _

_ *Nah, not even Sebastian,*  _ Ollie said amused.  _ *You’ll make quite the striking pair. You completely black, her so white that it nearly hurts…I don’t think I have ever seen a white wolf.* _

_ *Cyril Randall is apparently completely white. But he’s the only one who I know off…*  _ Luke answered absentmindedly. Not that he had ever seen the Alpha of New York in his wolf form. 

_ *She’s  _ **_ adorable _ ** _ ,*  _ Ollie said with a grin when Daphne had decided that swiping at the fish was a better use of her time than trying to drink another time. 

_ *Come here sweetheart, I’ll teach you how to drink without slobbering all over yourself,*  _ Luke offered. And maybe she would hopefully stop terrorising the poor fish. He somehow doubted that she would be able to catch one. Her coordination wasn’t quite yet what it should be.  _ *And don’t fall into the river!*  _ He exclaimed when that nearly happened as she balanced over a tree trunk. 

She stopped playing around, trotting over to him and happily pressed as close to him as she possibly could, rubbing her head through his fur. 

He was absentminded for maybe 10 seconds, but that was all she needed. 

He caught the scent of a group of deers only when Daphne had already started scrambling after them. 

*GRACE, SOME HELP HERE!* he exclaimed, running after his mate that had decided that she needed a midday snack. Not that he thought that Daphne herself had much to say at that moment. 

He wasn’t quick enough. By the time he reached her, Daphne had already leapt onto the deer, bitten through her throat, scarlet blood sloshing all over pristine white fur.

He hadn’t expected that. At all. 

Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. And now he couldn’t do anything about it anymore, because getting between Daphne and her kill was the most stupid thing he possibly could. That would end blood as well. But for him. 

He didn’t say anything, not wanting to startle her as she started to scarf down the meat like she hadn’t eaten in months. 

The first shift was always taxing for werewolves and they always needed to eat more afterwards but it had been a while since Luke had seen that a werewolf decided to go hunt for his lunch himself. Her actions had all been wolf and not really Daphne and he kept a careful eye on it, waiting for Daphne to resurface and have a freakout about the mess she had made with her own fur and the deer. 

She didn’t. 

He kept watching her, a part of him far too pleased to see her able to provide for herself even when he wanted to be the one. He wanted to be the one hunting for her, bringing her food, killing that deer for her. 

Luke crept closer to her carefully, waiting for any sign that she would turn to defend her kill. She didn’t. At that moment Daphne was feral, wild, ferociously intent on her kill…and absolutely  **_ glorious _ ** . 

She didn’t seem to notice him, from where she was still having her fill but then amber eyes slipped up at looked at him. He expected her to growl in warning. 

He didn’t expect her to drag the carcass closer to him, obviously offering her kill to him. 

It startling him and in the same instance, it was a punch in his gut when he recognised her doing the same thing he had done for her at the beginning of their relationship. 

Just that his kill had been a whole lot less impressive than the deer Daphne had brought down at her first try. 

She gave a high whine, again shoving the carcass close to him and he allowed himself to indulge in it. That pleased her if the tail thumping was anything to go by.

There was to hope that she was not going to have a freakout about that part later.

***

The transformation back was a whole lot pleasant. 

When Daphne finally was back in her own body she was shivering like a leaf, even with the blanket that Caroline had wrapped her into. 

“Get dressed and then you need to eat,” her aunt told her gently but Daphne could just stare at her hands, ivory skin wrapped over fragile bones and try to unite the min her mind with the paws and long claws she had possessed just moments before. 

“I killed a deer,” she brought out as she closed her hands into fists. She remembered it. The blood sloshing inside her mouth, how pleased she had been when she had dragged that dead

“You did,” Luke agreed softly, kneeling down next to her. 

“Why?” She brought out, unable to hold the tears back that threatened to fall over her face. “I killed her. I am a coldblooded killer, I…”

“Instincts, sweetheart,” Luke interrupted her, reaching out to tip her head up and press a kiss against her forehead. “You are an apex predator.”

“I…did I give you that carcass?” She questioned when another remnant of memory came to the forefront of her mind to her. She had given it to him. Oh my god, why had she thought that was a good idea?!

“You shared your kill with me,” Luke corrected her with some amusement. “Maybe you wanted to pay me back for the rabbits.”

She laughed wetly at that, still feeling like that poor deer hadn’t deserved what she had done to it.”

"Your deer was a lot more impressive though. Especially for the first kill,” Luke continued. “You are  **_ very _ ** quick.”

“Thanks, that’s not making it any better,” Daphne admitted with a sigh, but she leaned against his shoulder, letting him pull her on his lap for a moment. 

“You’ll get used to it,” Luke promised her, taking her hands in his. 

“It was…quite romantic,” he admitted with a grin and she snorted. 

“A dead deer spells romance for you, Luke?” She asked him with a shake of her head, not believing what she was hearing. 

“If my mate offers it to me, then yes,” Luke answered seriously. “It’s fine, sweetheart, you get used to it.” 

She would. Somehow. 

“But it was fun otherwise, right?” He questioned her, hopefully, looking at her like he wanted nothing more and she smiled at him, nodding her agreement. It had been weirdly fun. 

“Other than you throwing me to the floor and the whole growling thing, sure,” she answered. “That was overkill.”

“You can tell me a lot of things, sweetheart, but not that you didn’t also enjoy that,” Luke said drily. 

Daphne didn’t look at him but the blush on her cheeks still rose high. 

She did.

_ Maybe _ . 

A  _ tiny _ bit. 


	29. Chapter 23

**_ In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, bridge to our future _ **

_ Alex Haley _

Sometimes Daphne wondered how it could be that her life had turned completely around in less than six months. She wondered how it was that she didn’t need to worry about paying the electricity bill anymore…she wondered how it was that she didn’t need to worry about keeping enough money stashed away that her mother could buy her whiskey of choice and whatever drugs she was on that week. Every day that she spent at school, coming home, doing homework, painting, was a small slice of wonder all on its own. 

She couldn’t help but look at it all, unable to believe that it was  **_ hers _ ** now. She had wanted this life, had  **_ yearned _ ** for it and now she finally  **_ had _ ** it. 

She had a family that she adored, she had her own room that was decorated just how she liked it…and she had  **_ Luke _ ** . 

He was the brightest part of her days and the more time she got to spend with him…the more Daphne realised that her feelings for him were anything but fleeting. 

It startled her the first time when she allowed herself to think about what kind of future the two of them could build. 

When she realised that she would happily mould her plans to his, just as he had carved out room for Daphne in his life. 

They always tried to work it out with each other, and Daphne appreciated that more than she could say. 

She came to Luke’s football games and cheered, even when she still didn’t understand the rules. She spent time with grace and Kiana and the rest of the wolf pack, learning the ins and outs of being a werewolf. There were hundreds of things that she didn’t know about yet. Sometimes she would give everything to have a handbook for the newbie werewolf. Sadly that didn’t exist yet. 

She contemplated the idea of marriage, wondering if it would give them anything other than a ring and party, but realising that it was probably something that Luke would want. 

She could go along with that if it made him happy. Daphne didn’t have strong feelings about it either way. 

She startled herself with her plans for the future, of the wishes she realised she had. She didn’t tell Luke about all of them. There were some that she was still slowly dragging out from that locked boy in her heart where she had put everything she had always wanted during her childhood. 

Sometimes it were ridiculous things. Like the one time she and Luke had gone to Augusta for an afternoon and he had indulged her wanting to eat candy floss for the first time in her life with a laugh and him ending up eating nearly all of it after Daphne had tasted it and declared it to be disgusting. 

Sometimes it weren’t ridiculous things. Sometimes it was her wanting to visit her mother’s grave, just to put some flowers on it and nothing else. She knew that Luke couldn’t understand why she wanted to do it. To be honest, Daphne herself couldn’t understand it either. 

Still, he drove her there, he walked her to the grave and held her hand when she laid down the flowers and then pressed a kiss to her forehead when she was done. 

He didn’t say a word about it and Daphne appreciated that more than she could possibly say. 

She contemplated college plans, none of them really to her liking, but all near Dartmouth, which was Luke’s plan.

She wasn’t ready to have a long-distance relationship with him. Not when she could feel her skin crawling when they were only apart a few hours at a time. 

And that day…she would need to be apart from him for a whole day. 

Daphne’s book was nearly finished, the story of Princess Plumella and her pet dragon, Buttercup now not just a figment of her imagination any more. It was a finished manuscript that had gone through rounds of revisions, and the pictures were painted as well. 

And because Daphne had worked completely on paper, mostly with pastel chalk, sometimes with watercolours, the pictures somehow needed to get to New York. Caroline had decided that they would fly down there for a weekend, Daphne able to give the pictures over personally. There were also a few things that needed Caroline’s signature so plans were made for that.

She hadn’t felt anxious about it when the plans had first been made shortly after New Years, but now that the time had actually come… 

Luke had kissed her goodbye that morning, but even that couldn’t help the anxiety that was building in her stomach, every mile they got further away from Fairbury. She didn’t want to leave, she realised suddenly. 

Not at all. 

She didn’t want to go back to New York.

When she had first moved to Fairbury she had thought that she would miss New York incredibly. She had thought that she would always be a city girl, that she wouldn’t enjoy her life in rural Maine. 

Oh, how wrong she had been. 

She understood now why Luke loved the forest so much, why he could spend hours there. She went running with him a lot these days, allowing her wolf to run free and hopefully not kill another deer. 

She had been lucky til now, no more dead animals left in her wake, other than the time she had accidentally managed to catch a fish while she had been trying to drink. 

Luke had laughed hysterical about her face later. 

She played with the necklace resting against her collar bone while they boarded the flight, letting her fingertips run over the star and the moon that hung from it for a moment. 

“It’s very pretty,” her aunt told her amusedly and Daphne couldn’t help but smile. 

“Luke got it for me for my birthday,” Daphne admitted softly. “I love it. He said a wolf probably would have been overkill, but I like the moon and the stars.”

“I still wonder where that whole full moon thing came from,” Daphne said thoughtfully after a moment. “I mean…”

“Going running under a full moon is beautiful,” Caroline admitted. “There should be one in a week or so. We should also be getting some more snow, so there may be a pack run.”

“A pack run?” Daphne asked, curiosity colouring her voice. 

“We try to get most of the young ones together for a run as often as we can. It encourages pack bonding. And really…it’s just a lot of fun for them.” Caroline answered. “And to answer the question…I have no idea where that Full Moon myth started. It’s startling enough though that the whole silver thing is true.”

“The silver thing?” Daphne asked because that was the first time she heard anything about that. She had heard the whole thing about werewolves being able to be killed with a silver bullet but she had chalked that up to some more weird myths that didn’t really have anything in common with the actual truth. Now it was startling to hear that maybe…maybe. 

“It’s an allergy that actually could be fatal under the right circumstances,” Caroline answered her absentmindedly, paging through the magazine she had bought at the airport. 

Daphne’s finger stopped sliding over the thin gold chain around her neck. 

She remembered another necklace she had worn, the one with the pretty pink stones, that she had bought during her and Caroline’s shopping trip when she had only been in Fairbury for a few days. She had worn it nearly every day, as it had been her only piece of jewellery that she owned. 

She hadn’t worn it since that incident with Kyle. Not for lack of trying. 

“Daphne?” Caroline pulled her out of her thoughts and she shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. 

“Just wondering…I bought that necklace when we first went shopping…I wore it a lot during my first few weeks here, but it gave me some kind of rash…” even before Luke had bitten her. 

“Then it’s probably silver. I didn’t even think about warning you,” Caroline said with a sigh. “I am sorry for that. We should probably buy you something that is actual gold.”

Still, it was there in the back of her mind, the idea that maybe Luke hadn’t actually changed her. It was there sometimes, teasing at the edges of her brain. Michelle had been a werewolf after all. 

Maybe Daphne had inherited it from her. Still, that didn’t explain why nobody had ever smelled the wolf on her before. Her scent had changed after she had shifted, according to Luke. The smell of sugar had a harder edge to it, something that had only made sense to her after he had made her smell the difference between a werewolf and a human in wolf form. 

Humans smelled  _ very _ different than werewolves did. Daphne still couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but she could recognise it as a difference. An edge of anger that humans just didn’t possess.

It made sense though, didn’t it? Werewolves were a lot more dangerous than the average human. 

Daphne still mulled that over, even when they landed in New York City, a black town car waiting for them to take them downtown, to the skyscraper that housed Randal Publishing.

That wasn’t the New York that Daphne was used to. She was used to small, rundown apartments and even worse public schools. Fairbury High School, even with its Overhead projector that looked like they belonged into the 80s, wasn’t as bad as her school in New York had been. And there were  _ waaaaay _ fewer drugs sold. Daphne still wondered if that had something to do with the werewolf populations. 

Randall Publishing was one of the tallest skyscrapers, at least in comparison to the others that were around it. It was a modern built, looking like it was made out of black glass but the inside screamed money in a way not even the Schuyler’s mansion did. 

(She was still going to call it a mansion. Mostly because Luke always rolled her eyes at her at that and then tugged at her ponytail playfully and she loved it when he got playful like that.)

She didn’t belong in this world. Not really. Daphne still wondered how anybody had thought it to be a good idea to give her a book deal. She was still a child. At least she felt like one at that moment.

She looked down on the black dress she wore, a camel coat over it. Both of it borrowed from Caroline to at least make Daphne appear professional. She was longing for her hiking boots and the parka that waited at home. Or at least Jeans and a pretty blouse. 

The people here knew Caroline, of course, they did. It would be weird if they didn’t know the New York Time Bestselling Author that they had signed, right?

They were ushered into an elevator, (even that thing seemed posh. With marble flooring and a chrome looking finish and Daphne wondered if maybe she should start drawing with more metallics because the effect was quite pretty), that brought them up to the top of the building far too quickly. 

“We are meeting with Leda in her office,” Caroline told her with a smile. “Pretty impressive, right? Randall Publishing moved here a few years ago…”

That was one word to use it. The other one was scary as fuck. 

She followed Caroline along like a lost puppy, her paintings clutched in her arms tightly in the folder she had carefully put them in. 

Still, she couldn’t help but stare out of the window, thankful that she actually was not afraid of heights, because they were what seemed to be at miles above street level. 

And because Daphne really should have taken more notice of her surroundings, something that Ollie teased her incessantly, she managed to run smack dab into the chest of some guy that was just coming out of an office. 

“I am sorry!” She blurted out, already wondering if that was going to end like it had done when she had accidentally run into Kyle. 

And really, this guy seemed a whole lot scarier than Kyle had ever managed to be. 

He was tall, broad, more reminding Daphne of a brown bear than anything else. Maybe in his forties, but her ability to guess people’s age had always been bad. 

For a moment he stared at her, something sparking in his eyes that Daphne couldn’t place. 

“No, I am sorry…I should have been more careful,” he finally said, his voice deep and rumbling. Something in the back of her mind reacted to it, but Daphne couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He looked…familiar. 

From somewhere. 

Daphne just had no idea from where. 

“Cyril Randall,” he introduced himself, offering her his hand. 

Oh, that’s why he looked familiar. He was Leda’s brother after all. And the Alpha of New York. 

**_ Great Job, Daphne, _ ** she cursed herself out but at least had the presence of mind to take the offered hand. 

“Daphne Emerson, it’s nice to meet you,” she brought out, hoping that at least her hand wouldn’t shake.

That guy really had the ability to make anybody want to admit to his deepest and darkest secrets, didn’t he?

“I see you already met my brother,” Leda’s voice came from inside her office, a smile on her face. She was just as beautiful as the last time Daphne had seen her, her facial features sharp and elegant, her eyes an indiscernible colour of a mixture of blue and lavender. 

“You brought your pictures?” She asked Daphne and she handed over her folder. 

“All safely inside there,” Daphne promised with a nervous laugh.

“This works much better than posting them,” Leda said approvingly. “You want to join us going through them?” She asked her brother who shook his head. 

“No, no, I really should get going,” he said regretfully. “It was nice meeting you again, Caroline. You look well,” he told her aunt with a smile that didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “Daphne.”

“Goodbye!” Daphne called after him shakily. 

Something was  **_ off _ ** about him. 

She just didn’t know what. 

***

He hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. Luke hadn’t. 

But the further Daphne was away from him the more it felt like a piece of him was missing and it was  _ painful _ . 

He didn’t want her away from him. He wanted her with him. 

He knew that that was the fledgeling mating bond talking more than anything else. They weren’t bonded, there was nothing that told him that everything was alright with her, so he was being a bit…grumpy. 

At least Grace told him that with a raised eyebrow and then ordered him to go running so that she didn’t need to watch him  **_ pining _ ** . 

Her words, not his. 

He did how his sister asked, however, preferring to run around the house a few times, making sure that his scent really was everywhere, an unworried warning to any werewolf that came near his home that there already was a werewolf that had claimed the space as  **_ his _ ** . 

He kept to himself for the remainder of the day, trying desperately not to think about his mate, not to think about how he wanted to run his fingers through her blonde hair, or kiss her. How much he wanted to run his hands up her back and feel the warm skin underneath his fingertips. 

She tended to shiver from his touch and he enjoyed that far more than he probably should, knowing that he had just as much an impact on Daphne, as she had on him. 

Still, when it was finally Sunday morning, Luke was just happy that he would be able to have her back in his arms before the day ended. He yearned for that more than anything He just wanted to hold her. 

He caught a whiff of her scent, before he even saw her, caught the sound of Caroline’s jeep making its way to the house. 

He was there as quick as he could be, catching her when she threw herself at him like he always did. 

Her weight was no difficulty for him to manoeuvre but as her lips slotted to his, for a moment he could feel himself go weak at the knees. 

“Daphne,” he breathed, burying his face in the crook of her neck, taking in the scent that could calm him and drive him crazy at the same time. 

There she was. All blonde hair and bright eyes, smiling at him. 

God, he loved her. 

“I missed you,” she whispered, her gingers sluicing through his hair and he made some sort of agreeing noise, still picking out the scent of sugar and pineapple from her skin. 

There was something more there, something that didn’t belong to her, that managed to spark the feeling of possessiveness in his chest as he recognised it easily. 

“I missed you, too,” he admitted, removing his face from her neck and letting her down so that she was actually standing on her own 2 feet. 

“You met Cyril Randall?” He asked her, trying his best to seem nonchalant. 

“Can you smell him on me?” Daphne asked surprised. “I managed to run right into him yesterday. He was nice about it though.”

Filing that information away, he nodded. 

“Yeah…like burnt sugar,” he admitted. “It’s a bit…disconcerting.” That was one way to put it. The other way was that he wanted nothing more than to completely cover Daphne in his scent, to make sure that the only thing anybody would be able to smell on her would be sandalwood and the ocean. His smell. 

He let her go when her he could feel his thoughts go down a road that he knew they couldn’t go down at the moment. 

“Let’s go inside,” Daphne said suddenly, “I only need to be back home for dinner.” He let her lead the way, for a moment startled that she seemed to have realised exactly what was going on. 

He knew why he had that sudden urge, why he wanted nothing more but to wrap himself around Daphne and not let her go again until his scent was imprinted all over her, but he doubted that she knew…

She pulled him inside and he pressed her against the front door, allowing himself to display at least some of his possessiveness as he kissed her far more roughly than usual, his wolf growling with approval. 

With her shifted…he knew that she could take more of his strength than before and there would be no need to hold back as painfully carefully as he had done when she was still human. 

Still, it was rare that he allowed himself to handle her with anything but the most gentle touches that he could manage, not willing to scare her with a display fo his strength. 

That day, however, Daphne seemed to be absolutely and completely on board with it, her hands clenching in his hair, her mouth opening underneath his as he kissed her. 

“I am there, Luke,” she brought out when his mouth detached from hers and he went straight to her neck, kissing and tasting her skin there. “I am not going  _ anywhere _ .”

He sucked at her skin, unable to resist to mark her in some way even when biting her was off the table and she jolted against him, a shocked moan coming from her when he worried the skin between his teeth. He didn’t bite her, he didn’t break the skin, but that didn’t mean that his make wouldn’t be there for everybody to see. 

“I am sorry…” he apologised when he finally was able to lift his mouth from her, Daphne still leaning against the front door, a rather painful-looking hickey painting the right side of her head. 

“No, don’t apologise,” she said with a grin. “You won’t hear me complain about it. Is it the smell? Of another alpha all over me?” She asked him and he nodded. 

“Yes,” he admitted drily. “It’s…ramping up my instincts far too much.

“Want me to take a shower?” She offered and he shook his head immediately. He didn’t want her away from him at all. 

“Want to put your smell all over me?” She asked him drily and he could just nod silently. 

“Then take what’s  **_ yours _ ** ,” Daphne whispered, biting her lower lip and he couldn’t help but growl at that. He wondered later how he managed to get her up to his bed, how he had managed not to be an absolute animal about it and make her smell like him right there with her back against the front door. 

***

Maybe she hadn’t quite thought it through. 

She wasn’t scared of Luke. 

If anything, having him take charge like that, was…really pushing her buttons. The question was just if it was still him or if she would have a very possessive wolf on her hands in a little bit and Daphne wasn’t up for that. 

Right in that instance, as her back hid the bed, him crawling over her, immediately working to get her blouse over her head, her helping him, he was concentrated and working towards a goal. 

Green eyes were looking at her, obviously waiting to see anything that could be constructed as hesitancy. She didn’t hesitate as she reached out to touch him, him pressing his cheek against her as he leant down to kiss her again, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, taking everything she had on offer. 

She whimpered in response, unused to him being as aggressive as he was in that moment, not even giving her time to breath, just requiring her to open up underneath him. He let go of her, giving her time to gasp for breath, only to shove her top up over her shoulders. His hands went straight to her bra, which was giving him problems. He growled once in annoyance, and suddenly it was loose around her. 

Had he seriously just ripped the fastening apart?

“I’ll buy you a new one,” he growled and Daphne was unable but to giggle at that, something that resulted in her having him loom over her again, meeting his eyes with a quirk of her mouth. 

“Don’t ruin any more of my underwear, alright?” She requested breathlessly. hHs only reaction to that was to go back to her neck, sucking hard on the bruise he had already made, resulting in her jolting in surprise. That was probably his version of…

She didn’t get to end that though, not when his hand unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them down in one smooth motion together with her panties, managing to have her naked in front of him far quicker than she was expected. 

His bulk pressed her down onto the bed and she relaxed underneath him, not reaching out to touch him, just staring in his eyes as he settled above her. 

He was straddling her hips. Him still completely closed and Daphne was suddenly very much aware of her nakedness in comparison to him. 

“Mine,” he growled in response to her arm coming up to over herself and she dropped it back to the bed, her thighs quivering. His voice growling like that was seriously starting to want her to figure out what else she could do to make Luke this…determined.

He grasped hold of her hands, holding them in his for a moment and once again she was reminded of how much strength he had on her. .He would have absolutely no problems to make her do whatever he wanted and with every other person, it would have scared Daphne out of her mind. With Luke…the only thing she thought about was what the next thing he would do, unable not to bite her lip and press her thighs together to give herself at least some relief.

She met his gaze, her heart beating out of her chest when he pressed her hands up and over her head, wrapping her fingers around the dowels of his headboard. 

Keep them there,” he whispered against her lips as he kissed her again. “If you tell me to stop, I will,” he promised her, his voice still rough but gentle and she nodded her agreement, feeling her thighs were smeared with her own wetness. 

She could do that. 

He kissed her again, letting their tongues tangle together, now far more gentle than he had been before. 

Before he had been demanding, now he seemed to have calmed a little bit, seemed a lot more intense and focused on something. 

She wondered what he planned but then he caught her breast with his mouth and all thought flew her head. She moaned appreciably, letting him know that she enjoyed that. 

He didn’t stay there long though, not long enough for his liking. He continued his torture down her body instead. The kisses were gentle. His hands were stroking broadly over her body, stroking the skin, touching her everywhere. 

She hadn’t expected that and while it was…possessive, there was something else there as well when he followed his hands pass with his mouth, his tongue darting out repeatedly. She was unable not to laugh when it pressed it against her side, suddenly ticklish. He stopped as he reached her waist, his weight disappearing and she opened her eyes startled not having him on top of her. 

His hands appeared again on her ankle and she needed to swallow, suddenly nervous when his hands grasped her ankles opening her legs wide enough for him to shoulder between them. 

Her thighs started to shake as he continued to press kiss after kiss against the inside of them starting at her knee, working his way up slowly. 

He was patient enough that Daphne wanted to tell him to hurry up, her hands tightening around the headboard, a breathy sigh leaving her mouth as he pressed another kiss against her thigh, never anywhere where she wanted him to be. 

She must be drenched at that point, she thought, unable not to jump when his touch of her body was surprisingly gentle the next time. 

He slipped higher, her legs needing to open wider to give his shoulder room. 

“Just relax.” It was as much an order as a request and she shivered as she finally felt him touch her pussy, as his fingers gently sliding over her swollen and wet flash. 

She relaxed into the caress, pressing her hips down to meet his hand, resulting in a soft laugh from him. A hand on her hips stilled her, but she still made a protesting noise. 

Oh. 

It felt like her heart stopped beating for a moment, as suddenly his hands were replaced by his mouth. 

He pressed her open and then his tongue speared her folds, her hips jumping up as it felt like her heart stopped beating for a moment. 

He didn’t give her much time to get used to it. Not when he began to devour her whole in the next instance. Her mouth opened, but even then she was unable to make a sound pass her lips other than a broken sob, her head thrashing back as he kept her hips tightly anchored to the bed. 

Luke gave her no opportunity to go anywhere, no chance to back away from him and the pleasure he inflicted onto her. Not that he wanted to. 

Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, Daphne feeling like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, the only thing that existed the pleasure that he drew from her body, his tongue torturing her most pleasantly. She twisted her hips back up against him, her hands tightening around his headboard. A growl came from him, his mouth lifting from her and she whined in protest. 

“Don’t,” it was all he needed to tell her to stop fighting against him. Especially in that voice. 

She wondered if that was the thing about Alpha’s people had told her about. Her mate and her alpha. 

There was a part of her that loved that. Loved that Luke was the one taking care of her that, he would take the lead when the opportunity presented itself.

He kept going, the heat in her womb unfurling, high keening sounds tumbling from her lips as it felt like too much and not enough all at the same time. 

He changed tactics, a thick finger sliding inside her and she whimpered, still not enough for her liking not when she wanted more. More and more and more and… 

“Don’t stop please,” she begged. “Please, don’t stop, Lucas.”

His full name tumbled from her lips and he seemed to like that, she thought darkly as he growled against her in what sounded like approval. 

“Lucas,” she tried again, his name garbled when something inside her twisted and she knew it was over. 

She wasn’t quite sure if she actually made a noise, or if that was a scream that left her throat. The only thing she knew was that wave after wave of pleasure crashed onto her, feeling like she was being ripped apart from the pure strength of it. Her breathing came in short gaps, her muscles shaking and she had never in her life felt more sated than at that moment. 

His body covered hers, grounding her as she still shook with her orgasm, his hips snapping against her thigh and she reached between them. 

He was rock hard in her hand and needed nothing more than one, two strokes, before he came all over her hands and stomach, thoroughly saturating her in his scent. 

His. She was  **_ his _ ** . 

Everybody would be able to smell that on her. And Daphne could find no fault at that. 

“That was…” she was unable to bring out the words, as he lifted off her, sprawling down next to her, slipping off his shirt over his head that he had still worn and she curled up as close as possible to him, wanting to touch him. He was warm and solid to her touch and Daphne buried her nose against his skin for a moment, just breathing him in. 

“I should go away for the weekend a lot more if that is the result,” she finally said, only half-joking. He growled at that and Daphne sighed softly. 

“You know that was a joke,” she teased him. “I have no desire to go anywhere. And I probably  _ shouldn’t _ either.”

Not if they were both nervous wrecks after it. She met his gaze and looked at him for a moment. 

“Is that the bond?” She asked him. 

“Skin hunger,” Luke answered softly. “We don’t have a real mating bond so we are trying to make do with whatever we can get. Once we have mated properly…it would recede to something far more manageable.”

“Does it hurt you?” She asked him softly, being her lip. It didn’t hurt her. It wasn’t uncomfortable most of the time and she wasn’t…she wasn’t sure if she was ready yet.

Ready to say the words and let him hear them. 

“No, it doesn’t. We just…it’s best if we have a lot of physical touch to let the bond grow on it own.”

“I am so on board with that,” she told him truthfully and he laughed. She leaned down to kiss him one last time before she curled up against his side, bedding her cheek on his chest.

He fell asleep like that, looking younger than he was at that moment and Daphne could see how he must have looked as a young boy in his face. It had grown squarer over the last few months, losing any baby fat it may have had. 

She wondered how he would look when he hit his twenties, his forties, his seventies. 

But as she watched him for a moment longer there was one thing clear in her heart. One thing that one day she would be able to tell him to his face. 

Until then…she pressed a kiss against his heart, feeling it beat underneath her fingertips as she touched his chest.

_**“I love you.”** _


	30. Interlude: Familial Bonds

**_When it is all finished, you will discover that it was never random._ **

_Anonymous_

“Caroline, what can I do for you?” Stephen asked her surprised as he opened the door to her and Caroline was nearly ready to rip off his head. 

**_How could she have been this stupid?_ **

Caroline herself may have been stupid…but she didn’t believe for one moment that Stephen hadn’t figured out what was going on months ago. 

“Did you think I wouldn’t **_realise_ **?” She hissed at him. 

Fuck, **_none_** of them had realised. She hadn’t realised what had been staring into her face for the better part of 6 months. 

She hadn’t realised what had been going on for **_17 fucking years_ **. 

But Stephen would have.

And as he looked at her, meeting her eyes with hard green eyes, Caroline knew that he had known. 

“Since **_when_ **?” She asked him, her voice nearly silent. 

“New Years Eve. For sure since she shifted,” he told her truthfully. 

“I should have seen it before shouldn’t I have? She smells so fucking sweet that it reminds me of caramel more times than not.” Caroline wanted to nearly laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation but she couldn’t. She had no idea how she should tell Daphne the truth. No idea how her niece would take that piece of information. 

Not well, if Caroline would need to bet. 

“She does. It was her smell that made me…think about it the first time. That and her eyes. Daphne has her father’s eyes,” Stephen said softly and Caroline could just nod. 

She did. 

Cyril Randall’s eyes were the same violet that Daphne possessed. 

“And then she shifted and the white fur is a dead giveaway,” Stephen admitted. “I don’t know how many more people have figured it out, but white werewolves are **_stupidly_** rare, you know.” that. 

“Does he know?” Stephen asked her and Caroline could just snort. 

“ **_Now_** he does,” Caroline admitted with a sigh, entering the house when Stephen waved her in. “Daphne accidentally ran straight into him yesterday. It was like a train hit me when I smelled them together.” 

A very, very sugary sweet train. But nobody would be able to see the two of them in the same room together and not realise what was going on. 

Daphne maybe didn’t have Cyril Randall’s height or broad shoulders, not his brown hair or his nose…but her eyes and the way she moved…that was all him. 

There wasn’t much of Michelle in her as far as Caroline could see. Daphne’s nose was her maternal grandmother’s, more similar to Caroline’s own than Michelle’s had been. Her hair, so light that it was nearly white…that the had inherited from her mother, as well as the small stature. The rest…Caroline wasn’t quite sure from whom Daphne had inherited it, but that spine of steel she possessed, the grit and the bite that she had if somebody upset her…it was all there in that small little girl that had never really been allowed to be a child. 

Caroline would regret that for the rest of her life. Maybe she should have offered Michelle to take Daphne in and to raise her as her own. She had been unable to have children after Ollie’s birth had nearly killed her, and she had always wanted a daughter. She would have gladly taken in Daphne before last year before Daphne had gone through more pain than any human should. 

“Leda’s smell isn’t as strong but I can smell the similarity to Daphne as well, now that I am looking for it,” she continued finally. “Cyril didn’t…He just…he just looked at her…I was waiting for him to say something…anything. He didn’t.”

Caroline wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She had seen the spark in his eyes. She knew that he had realised that Daphne was part of his blood, the question was just if he maybe thought that she was a niece from one of his brother’s or if he had immediately thought that she was his daughter. 

Caroline also didn’t know which answer was the better scenario for that. 

Hell, she hadn’t even known that Michelle knew Cyril Randall, and had not known that Michelle and Cyril had had a relationship resulting in a daughter. 

“I don’t know what would have been worse,” Caroline admitted finally. 

“Michelle never told you…” Stephen said hesitantly and she just laughed drily. 

“No, Stephen I didn’t know that my sister gave birth to the daughter of the fucking Alpha of New York.“ She could just shake her head at it. And then something else came into her head, something that meant Daphne’s birthright. Her birthright as the firstborn child of the Alpha and…“Stephen, she’s his firstborn,“ Caroline said softly. 

In another time…it could very well have happened that Daphne would have been raised to take Cyril’s place when the time came, just as Luke was Stephen’s firstborn and heir. 

“She’s not alpha material…” Stephen shook his head but she interrupted him with a laugh. 

“Isn’t she? She survived things than most people would have been emotionally crippled or a sociopath. And as far as I can tell she’s neither. Don’t take her hesitancy for weakness, Stephen, because she is a lot of things but not weak, ” Caroline snapped and Stephen met her gaze. 

“She’s one of the strongest persons I ever met,” he said calmly. “She’s neither emotionally crippled nor a sociopath, you know that. And I don’t say that she wouldn’t make a good alpha, because she would. She cares about the people around her but…It’s very clear where her priorities in the future lie, Caroline.”

“The two things she cares about are Luke or her paintings. She’s not…interested in much of anything else,“ Caroline admitted with a sigh. She couldn’t fault the girl. 

Daphne had been given a relationship that she could trust on a silver platter…and she had thrown herself in there headfirst. 

Luke was good for her, very good in fact. He was smoothing out some of the edges Daphne’s upbringing had resulted in, and he gave her a reason to take care of herself, something that Daphne clearly had problems with before. Daphne adored Luke and Caroline was just happy that she knew that Luke would rather cut off his own arm than to abuse that trust. 

The two of them were slowly exploring their relationship and Caroline could see that that was good for Daphne’s self-esteem, better than anything she could have come up with herself. 

Daphne adored Luke. That much was obvious. 

Caroline half expected the two of them to get married just after High School, only because she couldn’t imagine either one of them willing to let the other go.

“I have no idea if he knew beforehand but we took her straight away from underneath his **_nose_ **.” Caroline snorted with dark amusement. They had taken Cyril Randall’s daughter away from his territory. Blood feuds had been built on a lot less. 

Granted, neither of them had had any knowledge of what exactly they had done while they were doing it but Caroline wasn’t certain if Cyril would take the news well at all. 

“He can’t have known beforehand. He wouldn’t have given her over to you that easily, Caroline…not without a fight…nor can I imagine him leaving Daphne in an abusive home if he had any inkling about that whatsoever,” Stephen said carefully. “If he found out yesterday, then I am expecting a visit soon.”

That was the last thing Caroline wanted. 

“Do we tell Daphne?” She asked Stephen. This had the potential to be either good…or be a complete catastrophe for Daphne. She could gain a father and a step-family that loved her…or it could end with Daphne being hurt even more than she was before. 

“It’s not our secret to tell, is it?” Stephen answered with a sigh. “I think if she figures it out herself…then the should tell her the truth. Otherwise…I don’t know if that would be well-received if it came from us and not from Cyril himself.”

“I wonder…have you gone through Michelle’s things? Maybe she left a letter…anything that may be explained why she hid his daughter away right underneath Cyril’s eyes and never told him about her,” Stephen asked her and she shook her head. 

“I couldn’t…Daphne brought three garbage bags of things from that apartment…two were from Michelle. She gave both of them to me for safekeeping, not wanting them anywhere near her…then I just thought that they reminded her too much of her Michelle…now I think she wanted to get anything that reminded her of New York as far away from her a possible." Not that Caroline could fault her for that. “Even if there was a letter…Daphne wouldn't want to read it. Not that I can fault her for that…her…her feelings about Michelle are complicated and that’s something that neither of us is ever going to understand. " She sighed at that. "I thought about getting her counselling but she couldn’t talk about her problems so that would be useless." 

What was Daphne supposed to tell that therapist: **_My mother died and the rest of my family turned out to be werewolves?_**

"She talks to Luke though, so that’s calming. I trust him to come to an adult if there is anything that he can’t help her with," Caroline admitted and Stephen nodded his agreement.

"Luke hates Michelle. I think if she was still alive, he would gladly rip her apart in a thousand little pieces. But for Daphne, he would do anything," Stephen said seriously. "I can't fault him for hating her mother, not after I saw the scars. 

"Who can fault him? She hurt his mate," Caroline said grimly, and as Stephen looked at her surprised she just shrugged. 

"She may be my sister, Stephen, but I can still hate her for what she did to my only niece."

"Daphne didn’t deserve that. No child does," Stephen agreed softly.

“I just… I didn’t even know that Cyril and Michelle knew each other, to be honest, Stephen," Caroline admitted. “She moved to New York for College and then she dropped out her junior year because she got pregnant…Our parents just died before that and I was pregnant with Ollie…I should have done something more…She didn’t say a word about the father. Never did. I only met Daphne when she was 6 months old.”

***

Being confronted with his daughter…it was like somebody had slapped him in the face.

Seeing her in the flesh…that was something else than to read about her theoretical existence on a piece of paper and doing the math to figure out if there was a way that Daphne Victoria Emerson was not his daughter after all. 

He had read everything in the file that private investigator had given him. There hadn’t been…much of interest. She had good grades in school but nothing incredible and otherwise she seemed completely and utterly normal. 

The only thing of interesting her file had been the three notes about teaches seeing bruises on her body and on one occasion a broken arm during a school trip. Daphne had not wanted to undress in the hospital and had thrown a tantrum. They had finally managed to put a cast on her arm and there hadn’t been another note about a follow-up doctor appointment. 

To be completely honest, her whole medical file had seemed far thinner than what was probably normal. But to be honest…Cyril was a lot of things but a doctor was not one of these. 

So maybe it was nothing. 

The first time he looked at her he was startled. He had been certain that she was his daughter before he ever laid eyes on her. And then she had run straight into his chest, had stuttered out an apology and had left him staring at her like an absolute idiot. 

She was beautiful. She was. Blonde waist-length hair that she had obviously tried to make seem smooth, but that still wanted to fall in its usual messy waves and his eyes. The same eyes that Theodore had inherited, that Zoe had inherited…

Her hair was all her mothers, as was most of her face. A heart-shaped face, with skin that was so pale it seemed nearly translucent. 

She smelled like sugar and caramel, his smell, and of tropical fruits, all Michelle. 

She also smelled like something else entirely, another werewolf, male the slightly musky scent after. Whoever had touched her had obviously sexual interested in her if the smell was anything to go by. 

It was already pissing him off. 

The scent was Schuyler, all forest and something more and a quick thought about that made him realise that it must have been Lucas Schuyler’s scent all over his little girl. 

Cyril would like to break his face. 

He wasn’t surprised to find his sister enter the room, nor was he surprised that she sat down in front of his desk, her arm crossed over her chest. 

He didn’t say a single word, wanting her to be the one to ask the question, but she didn’t say a word. 

Finally, Cyril gave in because he knew that he had no chance against Leda when she was like that. 

“Since when did you know?” He asked her finally and she just raised an eyebrow at him. 

“What? That she is your daughter? Since the time I met her for the first time,” Leda said drily. “I didn’t even know that you had something going on with Michelle Emerson.”

“It wasn’t…” he shook his head. It had been a stupid decision. A very stupid decision. He had mated with her, even when he had known that they weren’t a perfect fit for each other. His wolf hadn’t been on board with it at all, and by the time that Cyril’s father had died…and he had needed to become Alpha their bond had already been at the breaking point. It hadn’t taken longer than a few weeks to corrupt and he had been the one severing it finally. 

He hadn’t thought about her often over the years. When he had met Maryse, he had recognised her as his mate and Michelle and his fling had been nothing more than a note in the margins of his life with little consequence. 

Oh, how wrong he had been. So wrong. 

“Did you know?” Leda asked him, cocking her head to the side. 

“Of course I didn’t know Leda. Do you really think I would have left her with her mother if I had a single choice in that matter?” Cyril asked her aghast but Leda just shrugged. 

“I think that you can be a very selfish man if the situation calls for it,” she answered calmly. 

He didn’t say anything to that, knowing deep down that it was the truth. 

“I wouldn’t have,” he repeated sharply. “She’s my daughter and she should have everything that comes with that. She belongs to me.”

“So what are you going to do? Rip her away from Michelle and Matthew Hyde?” Leda asked him with a snort and a raised eyebrow. 

There was hoping he didn’t need to do any actual ripping. 

But he wouldn’t leave her there in Maine any longer. Not if he could help it. 

“They have no right to her,” he snapped back. She was his daughter, his little girl and she should be with her **_family_ **. 

“And you do? The father that she doesn’t even know about?” His sister challenged him harshly. 

“Not for any fault of my own. Michelle never told me that I am her biological father,” he defended himself but his sister just shook her head at him. 

“This is insane, Cyril,” she told him drily. “She doesn’t know you. She just lost her mother a few months ago and now you want to rip her away from her aunt and uncle? Have you even talked with Maryse about it?”

“She’s my daughter. Maryse’s opinion changes nothing about that.”

“Cyril!”

“She’s mine. And it’s long overdue that I take care of what’s mine,” he whispered darkly. She was his little girl. And he was not about to let her wallow in Maine for a minute longer than he needed. 


	31. Chapter 24

**_ Other things may change us, but we begin and end with the family.  _ **

_ Anthony Brandt _

It was early Saturday morning, when Daphne padded down the staircase, already dressed for the day. 

Luke hadn’t stayed the night and while by now she could sleep without nightmares when she didn’t have him near her, she still slept better if he was near her. By now preferably in his human and wrapped around her as tightly as they could manage. 

There were the times that she felt like his hold on her was the only thing firmly anchoring her in the present and she was thankful that it was there. She never needed to tell him that she needed it, it was enough to slip herself underneath his arm, pull his hand around her and he adjusted to suit her need to just be held for a little while. He indulged her with that but Daphne knew very well that his wolf was very pleased by it as well. 

Walking downstairs, Daphne wondered if Luke was already awake and if she could go over to the Schuyler’s to sneak a few minutes with her boyfriend. She loved early morning runs with him by now, the two of them even sneaking out to do it during the school week, just the two of them running through the forest. Something especially lovely when it was still dark outside and there had been new snow during the night. 

She was startled to find Caroline sitting at the dining table methodically going through the two plastic bags that Daphne knew held her mother’s belongings. She stood frozen in place for a moment her eyes jumping over the clothes, over the few pieces of jewellery that her mother had always hung onto and that had not managed to end up being sold for food or to pay the water bill. 

She needed to swallow back against the sudden feelings that welled up inside her, messy and too many to name. 

“Daphne…I thought I would take it from the plastic bags and put it in actual boxes. Do you…” Caroline started but she shook her head before her aunt could finish that thought. She couldn’t even begin to stomach the idea of going through these boxes herself. Maybe she never would. 

“No, it's fine, Caroline. I’ll just… Thank you for doing it,” she thanked her aunt with a pasted smile. 

She looked over the things again, unable not to reach out for the thick blue winter coat from her mother, the wool already thin in places. She remembered that coat from better days when her mother hadn’t yet been nothing more than an empty shell of a human being that needed alcohol and drugs to function. 

Michelle hadn’t always been as bad as near the end. 

There was a handful of good memories that Daphne had off her, not more than that but they did exist. 

She wondered if it made her a bad person that she didn’t want to drag them to the surface. 

It made her a bad daughter, that was for sure. 

“I am going to go over to Luke’s,” Daphne said finally. Luke was always good for helping her clear her mind…and she just needed  **_ something _ ** that wouldn’t remind her of this anymore. 

“Of course, Honey. Have fun,” her aunt told her with a smile and Daphne pulled her thick parka from the hook near the front door as she slipped outside. 

She didn’t bother writing Luke a text message, knowing that if he was outside running, then she would be unable to reach him regardless of what she did. 

He wasn’t. 

She found him inside of his house/barn, whatever she should call it, doing math homework and Daphne snuck inside to curl up next to him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her softly, looking up from his homework. It was Saturday morning, still early, and Daphne was thankful that she had stayed up longer on Friday to finish all her homework in the evening. 

She didn’t answer, unable to find the words, just hiding against his shoulder. 

He never pushed her and she appreciated that. Instead, he picked her up and brought her to the couch, sitting them both on there and wrapping her in a warm blanket, before he pulled her against his chest, pressing a warm kiss against her hair. 

She loved him.

“Caroline…she was going through my mother’s things,” Daphne finally brought the words over her lips, grasping hold of his hand and holding it tightly, her nails biting in his skin probably. She caught herself before she drew blood but he didn’t let her let go of his hand instead just pulling her tighter in his arms. 

“And that bothered you?” He asked her softly and she was unable not to shiver when she  _ remembered _ . 

“No. Yes,” her voice was shaking, wavering as she didn’t even know what she wanted to tell him. “…I don’t know,” she finally admitted. 

It hadn’t…she hadn’t wanted to make Caroline stop, she had just wanted to stop watching herself. Daphne hadn't wanted to be reminded of her mother at all. She hadn’t wanted to deal with some memories, to need to think about them any more. She was quite content with never thinking about her mother again, to be honest. 

“Does it make me a terrible person that I don’t want to think about her anymore?” She finally asked Luke. Did it make a terrible person?

What if he thought that she was a terrible person?

“No, Daphne,” he whispered. “It makes you human. It’s okay…none of us can tell you how to feel, but if you don’t want to go through her things…that’s okay.” 

She couldn’t help the tears that fell over her cheeks at his quiet assurance when she nodded and breathed harshly. This was calming her far more than she thought it would, a weight being lifted off her shoulder. 

She twisted her hands in the heather grey shirt he wore, burying her face against his neck and listening to both his heartbeat and the strength of his pulse underneath his skin. Strong and steady it was there, thrumming underneath his skin and Daphne couldn’t help but relax against him, trying to order her thought while he just held her quietly. 

He wouldn’t push her, he never did. He would give her all the times she needed to come to terms with things, always a steady and reassuring presence at her side. 

“I just…I just want…” she brought out, her voice shaking as she started to admit to him what she wanted. “I want a house with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. I want peace and quiet and I just want to forget anything else ever happened to me,” it burst out of her. “I want that life, Luke. I want nothing more than that.”

She felt his breath catch more than she heard it as she admitted that to him, the dream future that she had built for the two of them. She wanted that white picked fence more than Daphne had ever wanted anything else. 

“Werewolves don’t fit into that version of your future,” he said. There was something in his voice that she couldn’t place and she knew what it was. Making Luke choose between her and his brithright…that was something that Daphne wasn’t prepared to do. 

She wanted her house and her white picket fence. But she only wanted it with Luke. She wanted Luke and she wanted their pack, their family around them while they built that future. She wouldn’t take that from both of them. They were werewolves. By now Daphne had done her best to accept that. She couldn’t# change it. And she wouldn’t be at odds with that part of herself for the rest of her life. So she would learn how to build her life around that. 

“They do,” Daphne told him, shaking her head as she met his green eyes. “I wouldn’t want that white picket fence without you, Luke.”

“And you wouldn’t be…you wouldn’t be you if it wasn’t for your wolf.”  **_ You wouldn’t be the boy I loved without your wolf. _ ** The words were there, on the tip of her tongue, but she was unable to bring them over her lips. 

“You always fit into my future, I change that vision before I do anything that could come between us.” It was as much of a love declaration as Daphne could manage but he understood. A smile bloomed on his face, making him look even more beautiful than he had been before. 

He pulled her down to kiss him, pressing his lips against her slowly, savouring every minute of there kiss as his thumb slid over her cheek, gently wiping away tears that she hadn’t notice falling. 

“In that case…We’ll get you that white picket fence, sweetheart,” he promised her fiercely. “That white picket fence and a family that we’ll build together.”

It was the first promise anybody ever gave her that Daphne believed without faltering. They would figure it out. A house with a white picket fence and children once they were old enough for that. Normalcy. Their normalcy. 

He kissed her again and she indulged into it, slowly exploring without any hurry. Finally, he looked at her face, an incredible white smile on his face. 

“Have you thought about college yet?” He wondered and she couldn’t help but smile as she recognised him making plans for their future. together. 

“Have you?” She answered, knowing that Luke’s plan was more set in stone than her own. Hers were more fluid, she didn’t have any decision made.

“The goal was always Dartmouth. If I don’t get in there…Harvard is my second choice…Maine University is another option,” Luke said softly. “I have the grades for Maine University, if I get into Ivy League that would be a plus. But I would prefer not to leave our territory, not even for studying.”

She could understand that. 

“When I still lived in New York…I thought the only thing I would ever be able to be was a waitress,” she admitted softly. “My grades weren’t good enough for a scholarship, so I figured I would try to find a job for which I don’t need a university degree…”

“And now?” Luke asked her and she shrugged. 

“Now…I got the book finished and Leda talked about me maybe doing a sequel if it gets good reviews…I want to do something with art. I considered getting maybe some social media accounts…you know so that somebody gets to see my art…and try to do freelance work,” she admitted softly. He hummed his agreement. 

“Your art is amazing,” he said with a smile. “I think you should get the opportunity to share it with the world, so yes to social media accounts.”

“The problem is…trying to get into freelance work, would give me exactly zero financial security,” Daphne said with a sigh. “And…And I am not sure if I am willing to take that risk.” Not really to be honest. She had lived too long in poverty that she didn’t want to have that regular paycheck. 

“Money isn’t…It’s not a hurdle we need to clear, Daphne,” Luke finally said seriously and she stared at him. “You know how rich my family is. My trust fund alone…we could comfortably live on that and never work a day in our lives.”

“That’s your money,” she protested but he shook his head. 

“No. It’s our money if we decide we want to build a family,” he answered seriously. 

A family. Their family. 

She liked that idea. She loved that idea even. They would graduate from high school the following year and the idea of coming to Dartmouth with Luke…to work on her books for a few years and then settle down and have babies was something she adored. 

“Freelance work would give you all the freedom you could want,” Luke continued. “All the freedom to come with me to Dartmouth.”

“You could work from home, Daphne. We are fortunate enough to have the money to make the choice easy.” “

“I think we both deserve to be happy.” He finally told her softly and she nodded her agreement. 

***

There was a part of him…a part that was deeply soothed by hearing Daphne make plans for their future together. 

He liked to think about it. Liked to think about the idea of having children with Daphne one day, about marrying her…not particularly in that order. 

He would want to marry her first. He would want to give her his name to make her a Schuyler in every way he could manage before he would think about having cubs with her. 

He knew that their wants were also in parts shaped by the needs of their wolves, of the biological imperative to mate and to breed and to make sure that there would be the next generation. 

It was something that he was aware of and had made his peace with a long time ago.

He was a werewolf. His decision would always be coloured by that, regardless of what they were about. Their future…that was something that would need to be moulded around his eventual role as alpha and their wants and desires. And if Daphne and he wanted to do this…then they could. 

He would move heaven and earth so that the two of them would be able to do exactly what they wanted. 

“Let’s go somewhere,” he suggested suddenly, wanting the two of them to have a real date for once. 

It was Saturday, they had the first school week behind them and really…they deserved some fun. 

Daphne looked at him surprising but intrigued at the same time, the same look whenever he suggested the two of them to try out something or other. 

“Where?” She asked him curiously and he shrugged. 

“Augusta?” He asked her with a grin. “We could ask Ollie and Grace…I am sure we could find some movie to watch… and have lunch at Maggie’s!” He was maybe a bit too excited about that when Daphne’s startled expression was anything to go by.

“They have the  **_ best _ ** Strawberry Milkshakes,” he promised her and Daphne lit up at that. 

“I never had that,” she said with one of her smiles that was so soft that it nearly broke his heart. That look of wonder…regardless of how normal a thing he suggested that she had when it was something she had never had before. 

He had joked that first time they had been in the hardware store about her childhood being deprived. 

Now he knew how true that had been. 

“I’ll think you’ll like it,” he told her instead, swallowing down that bile that wanted to rise in his throat when he thought back about all the normal stuff that she had never experienced. 

It was added to the long, long list of things that he hated Michelle Emerson for. 

“That sounds perfect,” she agreed with him, and he shot off a text to Grace to see if she was up to go to Augusta. 

With Ollie and Grace tagging along, the four of them did their version of a double date. Namely watch a terrible zombie movie, that resulted in Daphne hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

That was something that he would never grow tired off. 

She wasn’t really scary, her scent only shifted slightly, but she preferred to be close to him and that was something that he just happily indulged her.

He liked being close to her and play with the strands that had escaped the braid she had urged her hair into, the blonde waves never doing what Daphne wanted them to do. 

He preferred it when her hair was open, not braided back into some complicated undo that made him wonder how she even did that while just having two hands and not eight like an octopus. It just made her seem…more real.

Luke had always wanted a mate, that wish something that he had carried around with himself since he could think. And now he had her. 

And that was something that sometimes, he still couldn’t believe. 

They did go to Maggie’s for dinner afterwards, a dinner that served every cliche one could think off, from red seats to skating waitresses in uniform. 

There were far too many burgers involved and curly fries that Daphne ate with an absolutely ridiculous amount of ketchup, but seeing her happy and relaxed like that was the best gift anybody could ever give him. 

Afterwards, Daphne was fascinated with her strawberry shake, trying to take a sip but surprised when the straw was blocked. He watched amused how she stared wide-eyed at the fresh strawberry that the straw had been stuck in.

“They use real fruit?” Daphne asked him in surprise and he was unable not to laugh at her incredulous expression. 

“Otherwise it would just be a pink shake, wouldn’t it?” He told her with a grin, watching how she happily munched on the strawberry. “Good, sweetheart?”

“Perfect,” she answered as she swallowed down the strawberry, smiling at him and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He loved seeing her like this. 

“I love their burgers,” Ollie sighed with an amount of pleasure that was kinda weird for a cheeseburger and Daphne laughed next to him. 

“I kind of noticed that you ate  **_ three _ ** of them after all,” she gave back drily. 

“I am a growing boy, I need the energy,” he defended himself, something that resulted in even more laughing. 

“Of course you do,” Grace gave back with a roll of her eyes. “I think we should start planning our Junior Prom,” Luke’s sister suggested with an evil glint of her eyes just seconds later, something that resulted in both Ollie and Luke groaned. 

“Do we need to?” Luke sighed. “What’s there to plan?” He could imagine a whole lot of more pleasant conversation topics. 

Everything would be better than that. Everything. 

“No, don’t ask her that question, Luke,” Ollie exclaimed in warning, “Or we are never going to hear the end of it!” That was probably the truth as well. 

Oh dear god, Luke was going to regret asking that question, wasn’t he?

“I’ll just go wear the dress from New Year's Eve.” Daphne shrugged next to him. “Maybe do my hair differently. What do I need to plan?” 

Well, Daphne actually needed to get a new dress. So that was something to plan. She was poking at her strawberry shake again, happily picking out more of the strawberries to eat and he watched that with some amusement. 

“You can’t wear the same dress!” Grace exclaimed scandalised and Luke needed to hold back the laughter when Daphne just stared at his sister like she shouldn’t understand the world anymore. 

“Why?” She asked Grace curiously. “It’s pretty. Why should I pay money for another dress that I’ll just wear for a few hours?”

He could just sigh at that. 

Daphne would probably be content to wear the same dress to junior prom and then the next new year’s ball, but Luke knew exactly what kind of gossip and rumours that would result in. 

“Optics,” Luke answered Daphne’s question with a sigh. “People expect a new dress from you. Otherwise, you can probably expect people thinking that Caroline and Matthew have lost their money gambling or something.”

She looked at him like he had lost his mind and he shrugged at her questioning glance. “Fairbury is a tiny town..and the rumours can get around really quickly,” he answered. 

“That’s ridiculous. I like my dress!” Pouting now, Daphne poked after another strawberry, finding one and chomping down at it when suddenly that face expression showed up that told Luke that she had just an idea. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked her curiously. 

“If I could actually paint on a dress,” Daphne answered absentmindedly. 

**_ Paint? On a dress? _ **

Well, if anybody could figure that out it would be Daphne. He would just shut up because that was faaaaar outside his comfort zone. 

“Oh my god, that would be awesome,” his sister exclaimed and then she and Daphne were off chatting about dresses and what kind Daphne could paint on and what she would paint on it and he could just watch it with a grin. 

“They lost me there,” Ollie said drily and he could just nod his agreement. 

“Not just you,” he agreed. He watched the two of them for a few minutes, happy that the two of them seemed to get along so well. It was a far cry from the icy relationship Grace and Hayley had shared. 

“You know…I am glad that it’s you,” Ollie said suddenly and he looked up surprised. While Ollie had accepted his and Daphne’s relationship, he still preferred to glare at Luke whenever he actually kissed his mate. Not that Luke faulted him for that. He had the same want whenever he saw Ollie and Grace kissing. 

“She needs somebody like you…and you make her happy,” Ollie grudgingly admitted. 

There were a lot of things that Luke could have said at that moment but he just smiled. 

“Daphne is the best thing that ever happened to me,” he answered. It was the stark truth. She was the best thing that ever happened to him, that bright spark that made the whole world seem more colourful than it was. 

“Then it’s just like it should be, isn’t it?” Ollie asked him, a gentle smile on his face and he nodded his agreement. 

It was. 

Life was good. 

His phone ringing startled out of his contentness and he picked it up, surprised to see who was calling him. 

His father didn't often call him so that meant that it was  **_ important _ ** . 

Luke picked up before the phone could ring another time, frowning. 

“Dad?” He greeted his father. For a moment it was quiet but then his father’s voice came on the line. It was tight with something that Luke couldn’t place, both worry and anger in there. 

"You need to come home, Luke.” It was an order and it made Luke’s blood run cold, while his protective instincts went into overdrive. 

Something was  **_ wrong _ ** . Deeply wrong. He just didn’t know yet what it was. 

“What happened?” He asked, forcing his voice to be far calmer than he actually felt at that moment. 

“Just… Come home. Right now,” his father repeated. 

“We are on our way.” For a moment he hesitated before he asked the question he was dreading. “Is Mom okay?”

He didn’t think that his father would still be able to have a rational talk if something was deeply wrong with his mother, but…

“She’s fine. It’s not…It’s about…Daphne. It’s…just come home, Lucas.”

That was like a slap into his face. He turned to face his mate, still chatting with his sister, laughing without a care in the world. 

What had happened?

He didn’t want to think that Daphne had managed to mess up something badly enough that it resulted in his father angry like that. To be honest, like had absolutely no fucking idea what his mate could have even done. 

But if it was about her…

He swallowed tightly. 

“We’ll be right there,” he promised. 

"Come to Caroline’s and Matthew’s house,” his father ordered before he hung up. 

“We need to get going,” Luke said as soon as the call ended, startling the rest of the table. 

“Why?” Grace asked him with a furrowed eyebrow. “We still have time…”

“Because Dad said so,“ he cut her off sharply. “I’ll go pay.”

“Luke,” his sister reached out to touch his hand. “Did he say why?” Grace asked. 

“Just that it was important and that it had something to do with Daphne,” he pressed out, avoiding eye contact with his mate. 

“I didn’t do anything…” Daphne whispered and as he looked at her, he could see that she was scared beyond belief. All colour had drained out of her face, her hands were fisted so tightly that her nails were biting into her heads and everything inside Luke was screaming at him to try and soothe his mate. To promise her that everything would be fine. 

“We’ll find it out soon enough. I’ll go pay,” he said instead. 

He let Ollie and Grace herd Daphne into the car and as he sat down behind the driver’s wheel, starting it, her small pale hand slipped onto his as he put the car into reverse. 

“Luke, I swear, I didn’t do anything,” she whispered, looking at him with big, violet eyes that looked like they were going to start tearing up any moment. 

He couldn’t deal with that as well. 

He forced himself to smile at her, to cup her cheek with a gentle hand and to make his voice as soothing as he possibly could manage. 

“Just calm down. It’s going to be fine,” he promised. 

She nodded, leaning against his hand but Luke couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t just given her a promise that she wouldn’t be able to hold. 

“I don’t like this,” she admitted with a shaking voice that was breaking his heart. 

“Neither do I, sweetheart. Neither do I,” he whispered, holding her hand as tightly as he allowed himself. 

He had a falling feeling in his stomach that it was so much worse than he expected it to be. 


	32. Chapter 25

**_ Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you a family.  _ **

_ Anonymous _

Daphne knew fear. Really, by now she should know that feeling far better than anything else. 

Just that his time she could feel the wolf in her chest on high alert, she could feel it move in the back of her head, could feel it worry as well. 

It was a startling experience. 

It was there during the drive home when the car was as quiet as a tomb, only sometimes interrupted by Grace asking Ollie a question. Luke next to her was quiet and lost in thoughts, not even holding her hand like he was normally prone to do. 

She didn’t dare to reach out either. She didn’t want to make him upset with her. Well, not even more upset than he already was. 

Daphne wrecked her brain with asking what she had done?

What could she have done that made Luke’s father this angry?

She hadn’t done anything over the last few weeks. She had gone to school, she had done her homework on time, she had gone to art club…she had gone to all the evening runs with the pack…

Daphne didn’t know the answer to that question. 

She had done nothing different than any other time before that. Nothing different that could explain why Luke’s father was angry at her. 

His anger was scaring the out of her. 

**_ What had she done?! _ **

She didn't  **_ know _ ** . 

And she  **_ hated _ ** not knowing. 

Her mother had often enough punished her for drinking her alcohol. Daphne never had, but it wasn’t like Michelle had believed her when there was no alcohol in the house and her mother was in another one of her moods. 

Daphne just hoped that that evening wouldn’t end in a mess of bruises for her. 

The reed house came into view, finally, the torture of not knowing coming to an end. 

She wanted to relax, wanted to take a deep breath and tell herself that it couldn’t be that bad, but then she looked outside and she saw a black SUV that she had never seen before. 

It was a very rare occasion that there was any sort of new car in Fairbury that Daphne didn’t know by now. 

She wasn’t the only one that put on high alert. 

It was Luke that opened his car door first and the way his spine straightened and he snapped to attention, told Daphne that something was wrong. 

“Luke?” She asked him timidly, watching how his nostrils were blaring, obviously taking in the scent of something and she tried to pull that to the forefront of her mind as well. 

It was something sweet, too sweet. Maybe like burnt sugar? Daphne had smelled that before, even when she couldn’t quite place it at the moment. 

“Cyril Randall is here,” Luke answered, his voice tight. 

Cyril Randall. 

So it must be something with her book. 

Daphnejsut had no idea why that would make Luke’s father upset. 

She opened the door of the car, slipping out, and was quite surprised when Luke appeared at her sid, taking her hand in a gesture she could only describe as possessive. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” she brought out shockingly. She was lying to herself as Luke pulled her to the front door, which was opened by Stephen. 

Well, at least he wasn’t glaring at her.

“Luke, Daphne, come in, please,” he said, his voice still tight. 

“What’s wrong?” Luke demanded to know as Daphne stepped inside the house and Luke helped her out for her coat. 

“Into the living room please.”

If the car had felt like a tomb…then a step into the living room felt like she was stepping onto the battlefield and having no idea on which side she was. 

The battle lines had been drawn. 

Caroline and Matthew sat on one of the two couches, Cecilia Schuyler and Luke’s Uncles Sebastian and Andrey standing near there as well. 

Leda Randall was sitting on the other sofa, her brother was prowling behind it but had snapped to attention as they entered the room. 

Luke’s back was held so tight that if he was a bow, she would have been worried that it would break. 

He stepped into the room before her, ushering her into the single big armchair in the room, standing behind her in what she could only describe as a warning to anybody else in this room. 

And Daphne felt ready to faint. She had no idea what exactly she was supposed to do right now, not when the pressure in that room was palpable and she expected it to explode any minute. 

“Honey, are you okay?” Caroline asked her gently and Daphne wanted to ask her aunt the same question because she looked terrible, to be honest. 

Pale and like she had been crying. 

“What’s wrong?” Daphne pressed out. Her answer to her aunt’s answer depended on the answer to her own question. Even if having all the family in the same room was…calming. The only one not there was Kiana and her family. 

“We…got some new information that we think you should be aware off,” Luke’s father said calmly as he herded Grace and Ollie into the room as well, a sharp jerk with his chin, making them stand beside Cecilia. 

“Is that what we call it now?” Cyril Randall asked his voice smooth, and icy and dangerous like a lake that had frozen over but could still break down as soon as you entered it. 

“How would you like to call it?” Stephen bit back sharply. “You came here unannounced, Cyril. I scared the fuck out of my kids to make them come here as quickly, and now you want to talk about semantics?”

Daphne couldn’t help but flinch at the raised voice, Luke’s hand dropping to her shoulder, a warm and heavyweight that was the only thing in that room that was at least slightly comforting. 

Cyril Randall just glared as an answer. 

“I think we are all being a bit…thin skinned right now…” Leda tried to smooth it out, but her brother just growled, a sound that felt like it went right through Daphne in a way she didn’t like at all, 

She curled up in the chair, a shiver going up her spine as she averted her gaze. 

“You said it was about Daphne. Just tell us what’s wrong,” Luke said tightly, his hand still on Daphne’s shoulder, the fingers digging into her shoulder, which was surprisingly calming sense. Daphne wasn’t the only one who wondered what in gods name had gown awry 

“You don’t have anything to say here,” Cyril Randall growled, being cut off by the even voice of Stephen Schuyler. 

“Cyril. That’s my son you are talking to,” Stephen said, his voice may be sounding even but the tinge of danger was there nonetheless. 

“And even if I wasn’t my father’s son, you are still talking about my mate,” Luke said sharply, his voice cutting like a scalpel. He had straightened up to his full height, the muscles in his back still tense and Daphne wanted to reach out to soothe the strain away, but she couldn’t. Not right now. 

Something in the back of her head told her that staying right where she was was the safest place for her to be and she believed that. 

“She isn’t your mate,” the alpha of New York said just as sharply, and Daphne recognised moment that he had crossed a line. She needed to swallow done the distressing whine that wanted to leave her throat and go jump that man’s throat at the same time. Somehow Daphne didn’t think that either of these two things would go over well at all. 

“She is,” Luke growled in disagreement. “And if I were you, I would be careful about your next words.”

“The bond isn’t complete yet,” Cyril Randall said with a raised eyebrow. “She isn’t. Your.  **_ Mate _ ** .”

“Since when is that any of your business?” Luke demanded harshly. “For fuck’s sake, one of you tell me what’s going on!”

He lost his cool, his voice echoing through the room, making Daphne flinch because Luke lost his temper so rarely. 

But right now he did. 

She managed to slip her hand around his wrist, curling her fingers around it, feeling his pulse jump under her touch from where hs still stood half in front of her, his shoulder squared and ready to physically defend her if the need arose. 

“ The status of your mating bond is my business when my underage daughter is one of the parties,” Cyril Randall hissed. 

If Luke’s word had cut through the room like a scalpel than this felt like somebody had taken a chainsaw through Daphne. 

At least it felt like that sentence ripped her whole world view apart from the centre out and leaving her without understanding anything. 

His daughter. 

No, that couldn’t…He couldn’t be her father. He couldn’t be…

“Cyril is Daphne’s biological father,” Stephen Schuyler’s voice was soft and reaching her like it was spoken through a whole mountain of cotton wool, while Daphne was trying desperately to somehow…

Her father. Her father…her…father. 

When she had still been a child…when her mother had started to hurt her more and more badly than Daphne had dreamed of her father showing up. Of somebody that would take her away from that mess and take her to live with him in a perfect world where she would have gotten ice cream for dinner and not need to worry about anybody beating her if she tried to take the whiskey bottles from her only parent. 

Then she had dreamed of that. 

The older Daphne had gotten…the more she had jaded she had become. She had started to believe that her mother maybe not even know who her biological father was, had thought that it was a drunken hookup in a bar, something that made her promise herself that she would never do that. 

She had wondered if he had maybe died of a drug overdose years before. She had wondered if he was a heavy drinker like her mother and if Daphne would be happy that she had never met him. 

Right now she would be very happy to have never met him. 

Because now her father wanted to take her from the only family that Daphne had ever known. The words hadn’t been said yet…but it was clear. That was his intention. 

She breathed in harshly, suddenly feeling like she didn’t get enough oxygen, a hand going to her throat feeling the necklace that Luke had figured her to her birthday under her fingertips. She grapes it in her fist, feeling the sharp points of the stone cut in her hand, but at that moment Daphne just needed something that was there. 

Luke still stood there frozen in place and she couldn't… she couldn’t… 

“That’s it?” Ollie blurted out at that moment and at another time Daphne would have probably started to laugh at her cousin tendencies to make fun out of everything. Right now she couldn’t laugh. 

“Oliver!” Her aunt snapped sharply. 

“I thought somebody was  **_ dying, _ ** ” he defended herself. 

The only one who felt like she was dying was Daphne herself, she thought darkly when it felt like the world was caving in around her and she pressed her eyes closed, fighting to breathe in enough air. 

She couldn’t help but panic when it felt like there wasn’t enough air for her to breath when her lungs constricted tightly. 

“Daphne…” Luke’s voice was there, his hands suddenly enveloping her face. “It’s okay, Sweetheart, just take a deep breath for me,” he commanded her softly. 

“Breathe, Daphne.” She listened to his order, greedily sucking in the air, his voice calming her enough that it felt like she could get some air again. 

“Sweetheart, it’s okay,” he whispered, his fingers sluicing through her face when he pulled her against her chest and she hid her face against him, breathing in his scent, that the thing that seemed to flip the switch in her brain that made it possible to think again. 

She was safe. She was with Luke. 

“It’s fine…We’ll figure it out,” he promised her softly and she believed him. She needed to believe him. 

She nodded her agreement but kept a hold onto Luke when he manoeuvred them so that they were both sitting in the armchairs. 

That wasn’t possible in any way but with her on his lap but really, Daphne couldn't care less how that would go over. 

She didn’t look at her father, unable to even look up. So she concentrated on Luke's hand instead, concentrating on the skin that seemed tanned even now in the depth of winter and tried desperately to keep her breathing even. 

“When did you find out?” She brought out hesitantly. Had he always known? Had he known what her mother did to her? Had he cared about it?

“A few weeks ago,” he answered her question, something in his voice that she couldn’t place. 

Not knowing what to do, she just nodded her acceptance of that answer. So he hadn’t known about her before. 

She had a thousand questions she wanted to ask him, first and foremost how he had ever known her mother. Daphne must have been an accident there was no other explanation why her father didn’t know if her existence otherwise, bad she really didn’t know what she should do with that knowledge. 

None of her parents had ever wanted her. 

“Why are you here now then?” Daphne asked softly. Why was he here now? Why did he care suddenly? Couldn’t he just leave her in peace? 

“To get you,” he answered tightly. 

A part of her had already expected that answer but her breath still caught in her throat when she thought about all the repercussion that would have. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. 

"To get…me,” she repeated, pressing out the words, hoping that he wasn’t actually serious. 

But that hope was in vain. 

"Yes. You are my daughter. You are a member of the Randall pack and you will come to live with me.”

A part of her wanted to start to sob, a part of her wanted to shatter, when her heart contracted sharply in her chest, when she would feel how Luke’s hand curled into her clothes, how he nearly vibrated underneath her with terror and anger. 

And another part…another part was furious. 

So she let go of that part of herself, not even bothering to bite down the harsher words that wanted to get over her lips. 

She would not go with him without a fight. And a fight she would give him. 

Her head snapped up and she glared at him so harshly that he actually held still for a moment. 

“Are you insane? I am not coming to live with you. I don’t even know you! For all, I know you could be some lunatic!” She snapped harshly. 

“Not a lunatic. If I had known about you I would have taken you from your mother years ago,“ her father gave back equally as harshly.

“If you had known. It wasn’t like you actually cared enough to check if you knocked up my mother.” That was probably below the beltline but she couldn’t care less. “She’s dead now. You don’t get to take me from her anymore. And I quite like where I am currently staying.”

She loved it even. 

She had hoped that being g harsh and venomous about the idea from the beginning would be enough to push that idea out of her father's head but she couldn't have been more wrong. 

“It wasn’t a question.” 

“So what, do you want to drag me away if I don't come with you willingly?” she asked him with a snort before growing serious again. “My family is here. Luke is here.” 

She wouldn't leave him for anything. 

“Ah, yes, your…mate.“ Her father's voice made it very obvious what he thought about that. 

Namely nothing.

She glared at him, biting her tongue to not lash out at him. 

“Yes, my mate. I'm not leaving him,“ she said sharply. She wouldn't leave Luke. he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. 

But the alpha of New York just looked at her. 

"I am not planning to give you a choice,“ he said tightly and her eyes widened when she realised the threat apparent in these words. 

The rest of the room had come to attention as well, all of them staring at Cyril Randall with something akin to horror but Daphne just was furious. 

How could he dar coming here and wanting to rip her out of her home, away from her family, just because he suddenly was interested in her?

“ _Cyril_ ," his sister hissed but he ignored her. 

“You will do what your alpha tells you.“ Something was bleeding into his voice…something that Daphne had learned to very much recognise as the alpha part of him. Luke had it as well. When Luke used it, it felt like a warm shower went down her spine. It was an order. It was something he wanted her to follow and she submitted to his wishes. She trusted him to make the right decision. 

This time there was no warm shower. There was no willingness in Daphne to follow that order. So she met his gaze, met her own eyes in her father’s face. 

“You are not my alpha,” she said whisper soft. 

He reared back like she had slapped him and a part of her felt a sick sense of satisfaction at that. 

She had gotten one up at him. She hadn’t won. Not yet. He wasn’t willing to back off his standpoint and she knew that. 

She knew that there was a decision she needed to make before that night ended and Daphne also knew exactly what she would choose.

“Cyril,” Leda’s voice was crystal clear. ”I think it may be better if we continue this discussion tomorrow. Preferably when we have all calmed down at least a bit." 

***

He watched Cyril Randall leave Caroline and Matthew’s house and maybe he should feel relieved. 

The only thing he felt at that moment was dread though. 

None of this had been the plan. None of this was what any of them had expected to happen and now they were…scrambling. 

He looked at his mate, still sitting on his lap, looking after her father with near hatred in her eyes. Any other time he would have been happy that she had stood up for herself Right now he had been frozen in place with the fear of Randall trying to take his mate from him and leaving him…

He didn’t expect her to start sobbing nearly hysterically as soon as the door closed however and he just held her tighter as she hid her face against the crook of his neck and he curled his hands into the sweater she wore. 

Nobody could take her from him. He wouldn’t…Luke wouldn’t survive it. 

“Can he do that?” Luke finally asked, dreading the answer. “Does he have a right to it?”

“He’s…Daphne is 17. Anything in front of the courts would just get dragged out until she is a legal adult. He wouldn’t be given emergency custody, not without proving that he is the father and he would need a DNA test for that,” Sebastian answered tightly. “For us…it’s pretty obvious that he is, in fact, the father, for humans not so much.”

“And as a werewolf?” Luke questioned tightly. 

“She’s his child,” his father answered, looking out over the ocean. “His instincts are primed. This has the potential to get very ugly, very quickly.” That was exactly what Luke did not want to hear. “Blood feuds have been built on less.”

“It would be a different conversation if your mating bond would be complete,” his mother said carefully. “It’s…he wouldn't interfere with a complete mating bond. You would be in the right to kill him for that.”

“I hope you are not suggesting that,” Luke whispered, burying his face against Daphne’s neck. 

“It would solve the problem,” Daphne brought out shakingly. 

No. Not like that. That hadn’t been the plan. They had said they would await. He had promised her to wait. He didn’t want their bond to spring out of desperation, to only be there because her father was being an asshole and completely unreasonable. 

That wasn’t a good foundation for their bond. 

And he couldn’t…this would make him no better than Kyle if he forced a bond onto her. Not even to think about the idea that maybe that the bond wouldn’t even stick, that it wouldn’t work properly, because she didn’t really want it. 

He couldn’t….he couldn’t take that risk. 

A few years down the road this could be the exact reason why Daphne hated him. 

And Luke couldn’t….she was too important for that. 

“No. Not in one million years. I am not doing that,” he spat out. ”I am not going to hurt you like that.”

“We can try to talk with him again, we can…” he started but Daphne pulled her face from his neck, just looking at him with dry eyes. 

“And he is clearly not going to be reasoned with,” she said sharply, rubbing her face with her hands. “He looked like he wanted to jump my throat at the end." 

“You offered the worst insult you probably could to him at that moment, Daphne. I hope you are aware of that,” his father said softly. His mate just shrugged. 

“He deserved it,” she snapped. “He doesn’t care one bit about what I want. He just wants to have the power. And I am not going to allow him to make my life a living hell!”

“Sweetheart,” he tried to calm her but she just shook her head. 

“If the bond would be complete he couldn’t take me from here?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and he shook his head. 

“He couldn’t,” his father answered with a sigh. “If he would try, Luke would be in the right to kill him for bond interference.”

His wolf happily growled in the back of his mind at that but Luke pushed him away, even when he didn’t want to. 

His wolf was absolutely on board with mating with Luke and it went against every instinct to refuse her if she was offering. 

“We are not doing that,“ he snapped instead, carefully pushing her from his lap and kneeling in front of her.

“I am not doing that just to keep you here. I am not forcing a mating bond on you,“ he told her, forcing her to look into his eyes, waiting for her to nod and accept it. Just this time she didn’t back down one bit. Instead, she met his eyes, looking at him with so much pain and fear and resolvement that he wanted to kill Cyril Randall for even putting that expression onto her face. 

“You wouldn’t be forcing  _ anything, _ “ Daphne whispered. 

In her mind maybe not. Maybe he wouldn’t. But he knew that she would still run away screaming if he even uttered the words, I love you. He knew that she wouldn’t have picked this if she had a choice in that matter. 

And that just wasn’t good enough. 

“Yes, I would. Because I highly doubt that you would have thought about it that morning before all of this happened. And I am not mating with you just to keep you here,” he whispered, closing his eyes when the wolf became enraged in him, railing against his decision. 

“I am never going to hurt you like that.”

And he wouldn’t. 

He would never hurt her if he could help it but right now he couldn’t deal with it anymore. 

His instincts were screaming at him to get back there, to soothe his mate, to make her his in any way he possibly could. 

But Luke wasn’t willing to take the risk of hurting her. Daphne had been hurt enough throughout her life. He would never want to be a source of pain for her. 

The shift ripped through him, his wolf furious and ferocious, not on board with Luke leaving his mate alone, not even surrounded by their pack. 

He forced him to keep calm, forced against the fury and the anger, against every inch of his own being yearning for Daphne. 

_**He wouldn’t hurt her.** _


	33. Chapter 26

**_ May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.  _ **

_ Nelson Mandela _

“That… _That_ could have gone better,” she said softly, when she heard the first harsh howl rip through the night, unable not to want to bury her face in her hands. 

She wanted to burst into tears and rip people’s heads off at the same time, needing to breathe against the pain Luke’s refusal had resulted in that was growing in his chest. 

Did he always need to be so damn idealistic?

She knew the answer to that because he wouldn’t be the boy she had fallen in love with when he wouldn’t be that. 

“Where is he going?” She asked softly, not looking outside, knowing that if she even snuck a peek at the big black wolf she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from shifting as well and running after him. 

“That’s my son retreating physically from a situation that could result in the most pain he ever felt in his life,” Stephen Schuyler said shortly. “Give him some  **_ time _ ** .”

“We don’t have time,” Daphne retorted, burying her face in her hands. “I am going to hit the fucking ceiling if I need to see Cyril Randall ever again.”

“Daphne, Honey, he’s your father,” Caroline implored softly. “He’s…he’s the only piece of your family that you…”

“No, he isn’t,” Daphne cut her off sharply. “He isn’t my family, Caroline. You are. Matthew is, Ollie, Grace is my family. He’s just the person that supplied half of my DNA. I don’t know him, and I don't know if I want to know him,” she brought out, her voice becoming more desperate by the second. 

She wished he had never come here at all. 

“I was…getting better, I was happy. I didn’t want to think about Michelle anymore or about New York or everything that happened before I came here. I could just let myself fall into this place that Luke carved out for me and I didn’t need to worry,” she pressed out, unable to keep the tears at bay. “I  **_ want _ ** this life, I want early morning runs with Luke and him sleeping in front of my bed, and I want strawberry milkshakes and cotton candy, and I want my own room with a desk and a bed, and watercolour pencils…And I want to live my life without expecting somebody to  ** slap ** me when when I wake up!”

“Daphne,” Caroline whispered, but she couldn't help herself from starting to sob. 

Daphne didn't  **_ want _ ** that anymore. She wanted the life she had built here in Fairbury, in that tiny town at the coast of Maine. She wanted that.  **_ All _ ** of that. 

She wanted the walks at the beach and the icy winters. She wanted the werewolves and the paranormal world she had been introduced to. She wanted the football games that she still didn’t understand and the Art Club lessons. She wanted to go shopping with her girlfriends. 

She wanted to be a teenager. And she wanted Luke. 

Daphne wanted him and  _ needed _ him. He had been the first person in her life that she had loved…on her own, without a familial bond, without anything other but just the two of them. 

She didn’t care about mating bonds or a mating pull or anything else. Maybe that was the one thing that Daphne believed to be destiny. Or fate or whatever.

“It’s going to be fine, Honey,” Caroline whispered from in front of her now, pulling her into her arms, but that weren’t the arms that Daphne wanted to be wrapped around her. 

She wanted Luke. She wanted Luke and for her father to disappear from where he had come. 

One of these things probably wouldn’t happen. But she would make sure she got the first one. 

So she starved down the sobs that broke through her, wiped away the tears and tried desperately not to let herself break down again. 

He hadn’t…he hadn’t refused her. He had refused her reasoning. He didn’t want to hurt her. 

He wouldn’t hurt her. 

So she met Caroline’s gaze and wiped away her tears, her decision made. 

“That’s better, honey,” her aunt soothed her. “We’ll try to talk to him again tomorrow. Maybe he’ll be a bit more reasonable then.”

Daphne just shook her head at Caroline’s suggestions. Cyril Randall wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had probably never needed to do that before, he wouldn’t start now. 

“It’s not his choice,” Daphne said. It wasn’t. It was her choice and it was Luke’s and their opinions were the only two that matters. “And I am not going to let him take my choice away.”

So she stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest and made two steps in the direction of the front door until Caroline’s voice interrupted her. 

“What are you going to do?” Her aunt questioned her gently and she met her gaze, knowing exactly what she would do. 

“I am going to find Luke,” Daphne answered. She would find Luke. And then they would have a talk and would figure this out because Communication was important,  **_ damn it _ ** and she was not going to go with her father under any circumstances. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Stephen said tightly but she just shook her head. 

“ **_ I _ ** think it is,” Daphne declared drily. “Because none of you have any more say about what happens than the two of us. It’s  **_ our _ ** life after all. ”

“It’s a serious thing. Mating. It’s not…” Stephen started but then interrupted himself with a sigh. “Don’t do it because you are scared of your father, Daphne,” he warned her, but there was no heat in his tone. “Do it because you want to and not because you are pushed into it.”

She looked at Luke’s father for a moment and then nodded her agreement. 

No. Her father wouldn’t be the reason for them to mate. He would be the last drop that would make the bucket overflow, however. But Daphne’s mind was made up, had been made up for months at this point. 

She wanted Luke. In whatever way, she could have him and she had enough of her fear dictating her decisions. She wouldn’t hold back anymore. She was a bloody werewolf and she had found her mate and now she was going to have what was rightfully his. 

Daphne didn’t say that outlaid, however. 

“We talked about white picket fences this morning,” she said simply. “I am going to find Luke and then I am going to remind him that I am  **_ very _ ** much able to make my own decisions.”

“I am not letting  **_ my father _ ** take me away from here.” She looked at Caroline and Matthew and willed them to understand. If not to approve, at least to understand her reasoning. Her Uncle met her gaze and the only thing that made it obvious about how angry he was was the way his eyes seemed to flash amber. It was obvious though that he wasn’t angry at her. “I want to spend the rest of my life with Luke. If not now, it would have happened soon. And I have enough of other people thinking that they have **_ any say _ ** about what Luke and I make out of our lives.”

And then she finally brought the words over the lips that she hadn’t managed before. 

“I love Luke. That’s all that matters right now.”

***

He smelled her before he heard her. 

Daphne hadn’t yet learned to be quiet in her wolf form and to be honest, he wasn’t sure if she even tried to. She made enough noise that he had plenty of time to get away from her if he wanted to. He didn’t. He couldn’t. 

Luke knew exactly that he had hurt her when he had refused. His reasoning was right, he told himself again, even when his wolf was far more pissed off than ever before. Luke couldn't fault him. 

It went against every single one of his instincts to not take everything that Daphne was offering him. 

The smell of sugar and spice, of his grandmother’s pineapple upside-down cake, hit him and he kept still until her smaller body had found its way through the trees. 

Daphne didn’t say a word, she just laid down a few feet away from him, placing her head on her paws.

_ *We talked about white picket fences this morning,*  _ her mental voice was dry and matter of fact and he stayed silent because he didn’t know what else to do.  _ *And you think I just want to mate with you just because of my father?* _

He wanted to be angry at her for hitting him below the belt like that but he couldn’t. They were all being a bit snippy at the moment and that couldn’t be helped. Still, he hated that she was ready to put him on the spot like that. 

_ *Would you have wanted it  _ **_ without _ ** _ him there?*  _ he snapped _. *Because we haven’t even talked about it yet, Daphne!*  _

They had put it off the table a few months ago and since then they hadn’t talked about it again. And really…they should have done that. 

_ *I am scared,* _ she told him frankly and he stared at her. _ *I am terrified, Luke.*  _

That…that made the abyss in his stomach just grow even bigger. What was she scared off?

_ *The last time…I laid curled together on your chest and I said the words only after you were asleep because I was so terrified,*  _ she said, not looking at him, instead staring at the ground and he crushed the hope he felt growing in his chest about what these words could be.

Luke couldn’t allow himself to think about it. 

_ *I never saw a  _ **_ healthy _ ** _ relationship. I don’t know how to be a good girlfriend. Or wife. Or mother. Or anything really. I am terrified that I am going to mess this up,* _ she continued. 

Daphne couldn’t mess it up. She couldn’t. Daphne was everything he had ever wanted and they just  ** fit ** together. The two of them. 

They had worked hard to be adults about this whole relationship and to communicate properly, and still, sometimes she said something that surprised him so much that he was just floored. 

_ *Because it’s the most important and precious thing I have ever had before and I would prefer to cut off my own arm before I mess this up,*  _ she admitted in a whisper, still staring at the ground and everything inside him screamed to go offer her comfort, to at least touch her, to make it all better for him. But he was frozen on the spot, still waiting to hear the words. 

He could hear a dry laugh from her, a snuffling from her wolf as she went on. 

_ *I am terrified that you’ll think that sex with me is terrible and that I am really a frigid bitch,*  _ she spat out and he couldn’t help but growl at that. She wasn’t. If anybody was ever going to call her that again and he heard it, he would probably gladly commit his first murder. * _ I am terrified that a few years down the road you will regret it. All of it and wonder how you ever thought that you liked me,*  _ Daphne continued. 

_ * And you  _ **_ really _ ** _ think I just want to mate with you just because of my father?* _ she looked at him as she thought the words, her amber eyes boring into his and he shook his head. 

_ *I am sorry,*  _ he apologised finally. _ *I am so fucking sorry.* _

_ *My point…my point is that I…*  _ she continued like he hadn’t interrupted her, her voice growing shaky but she still pushed on.  _ *I love you. I  _ **_ love _ ** _ you, Lucas Schuyler. More than I have ever loved anything else in my whole life and I want to kill him for hurting us like that.* _

The words from her were like a balm to his soul. They would figure it out. They could figure it all out. 

For each other, they would figure it out.

And her words…her words were also just pouring gasoline over an already raging fire. He wanted to kill Cyril Randall and he wanted to take Daphne to bed and make her his. He wanted that. The two of them. 

_ *I love you too,* _ he brought out, his mental voice ragged. Her head snapped up and she stood to come nearer to him, curling up next to where he stood. 

He laid his head over hers, tucking her underneath him and for a moment just laying there in the quiet forest before Daphne broke the silence. 

Feeling her like that, feeling how much smaller than him she was, was tripping up every single one of his protective instincts. He knew that if anybody would come near them right now, he would lose that already precarious grip that he still had on his wolf. 

_ *I am not going with him. I can’t,* _ Daphne whispered at that moment, her voice broken and he took a deep breath knowing that really…there was only one thing he could do. 

If she said the words, his self- restraint would rip apart like it was nothing and he was already hanging onto it with a very, very fragile grip at that moment.  _ *You said we deserve happiness,* _ she said softly and he could just nod. 

_ *Then mate with me, Luke. Make me yours,*  _ she implored gently. Her words were braver than her expression but she was serious. And she wasn’t scared. He could feel that. She was anxious as hell, ready for him to tell her no again, but she wasn’t fearful. If anything…there was a giddy sense of excitement underneath it all. 

And wasn’t that a thing.

_ *Nobody can take me away then,*  _ she whispered. _ *I  _ **_ want _ ** _ this.*  _

He could feel his self-restraint snap. That was what he had needed to hear. 

His wolf was growling in warning again, making it very obvious that if Luke refused again he would pay for it, but really, he didn’t want to refuse her again. He didn’t want to tell her no anymore. 

_ *Daphne.* _

He was pretty sure he whimpered her name. She would be the death of him. 

At least he would die happy.

_ *I  _ **_ want _ ** _ this,*  _ she repeated again, meeting his gaze.  _ *I want  _ **_ us _ ** _.*  _

He gave in. 

_ *You’ll need to tell me to stop. Whenever you…For  _ **_ anything, _ ** _ Daphne,*  _ he told her. He couldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t do this if… _ * _ **_ Promise _ ** _ me.* I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you in that way.*  _

_ *You won’t,* _ she disagreed but he shook his head. 

He could. Even with her a werewolf he was still double her body mass, still was more than a match for her physical strength. She could take some of his strength. But not all of it. 

_ *I could. Very easily. And I don't want that. So you need to  _ **_ promise _ ** _ me…* _ he repeated, just hoping that she would agree. 

_ *I promise,* _ she said finally.  _ *But you won’t hurt me.*  _

_ *I wish I had the trust in my self that you have,* _ he said drily as he jumped up and pushed her in the direction of home. Now that that decision was made…he needed to have her home. Or he wouldn’t

Home. They would figure it out. 

He couldn’t help against the giddiness that he felt, how much he did want it to be just the two of them. Alone and having the time to explore what was building between them to their heart’s content. 

_ *I have enough for both of us,*  _ she told him, and he could hear the amusement in her voice, before she darted home and he gave chase. 

***

They managed to get back to the Schuyler house and Luke's cottage but then she just felt…awkward. 

Very  **_ awkward _ ** . 

He shifted in his stride, something that she still hadn’t learned and pushed open the door, letting her jump up at the porch and slipping inside as well, before she turned to face him, startled by how beautiful he was. 

Every time she saw him naked, she felt like she looked at the early morning sun in all its glory. Luke was beautiful. Acres of perfect skin that even now in the winter seemed to have this golden glow about it that she couldn’t help but be jealous about. 

She needed to take a deep breath to steel herself because she reached out and pushed down, pushing away the wolf until she could feel the shift drift over her skin. 

“I apologise beforehand if it’s terrible,” she blurted out as she stood before him completely naked, her hair wildly framing her head even when she was patting it down and his lips quirked up. 

He stepped nearer to her, cupping her cheeks with his big hands and she was forced to look up at him. He ran his hands through her hair, pushing it away from her face in a movement that he had done hundreds of times by now and that still pleased her far too much whenever he did. 

She couldn’t help but lean into his touch, to enjoy the attention he gave her when purple eyes met laurel green ones and he smiled at her. 

“Hey, there are two people involved, after all,” he told her with a grin and a nervous laugh escaped her. “It’s not going to be terrible, I promise.”

He was awfully certain about that, wasn’t he?

“You don’t know that, Luke,” she disagreed, even when she melted in his arms when his hands slid down over her shoulder to her waist, pulling her flush against him. She stared at him wide eyes, feeling him press hart and heavy against her belly before he kissed her.

He kissed her like he had all the time in the world, and in a way, Daphne supposed, he had. They had all the time in the world to get this right. 

She let the rest of the world melt away, the worries and fear and anxiety. There was just Luke. Just the two of them. 

They would figure this out. 

She relaxed in his grasp, relishing the feeling of his arms around her, holding her tightly and she wound her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss. She needed to stand on her tiptoes to make it easier, lightly swaying but then he growled and grasped her, pulling her up in his arms bridal style like she weighed nothing. 

Daphne squeaked in surprise as he swept her feet from underneath her, but let him carry her to bed, her back hitting the soft mattress as he crawled on top of her. 

“That’s better, isn’t it?” He growled softly and she nodded her agreement, letting herself melt back into the bed, opening her legs to make space for him, letting his bulk press her onto the bed, utterly surrounding her with Luke and nothing but Luke.

That was her favourite thing about it all. She could close her eyes and surrender to him, concentrate all her sense onto him so that Luke was the only thing in the room that even mattered. 

So Daphne did just that. 

She could feel the warmth of his body, and the way his heart seemed to hump in his chest just like Daphne’s did in hers. She could feel him kiss her carefully and gently like she was the most precious thing he had ever held in his hands and she kissed him back, with everything she had, wanting to make him feel at least a fraction of what he made her feel. 

She kissed Luke greedily, until they both gasped for breath, him pressing his head against the crook of her neck so that they both could breathe again. 

“Still think it could be  **_ terrible _ ** ?” He asked her teasingly and she couldn’t help but laugh in exhilaration, letting her hands slid over his broad back but shake her head with a grin on her face. 

“We’ll do it  ** together ** ,” she said instead of an answer and he kissed her in agreement, his hands trailing over her body, his bulk pressing her to the bed.

He turned them both over suddenly, pulling her onto his chest and letting Daphne take the lead, something she was thankful about. 

She cooled them down slightly, turning their kisses into something slow and savouring, trying to commit every moment to memory. 

They only had one first time after all. 

He was alright with that, letting his hands slip up and down her back, his fingers tracing the scarred flesh with something akin to reverence. It made tears appear in her eyes but she bit them back not wanting to go down that road right now. 

Not when she had him willing underneath him, when he looked up at her with a smile as she moved to straddle him, ignoring how ready he was for her for a moment. 

She tried not to think about it, tried not to fear how much it would hurt her to take him inside her if his size was any indication 

Maybe the way they had arrived at this moment…maybe that wasn't the most normal one. But now they were together. Just two of them.

It had been a long time coming. 

This was just the last hurdle they needed to clear and it didn’t feel like one. 

Kissing him and touching Luke had always been as easy as breathing. She had been nervous in the beginning, still was if she was completely honest with herself, but as long as she was with Luke, she was  **_ safe _ ** . 

She could feel that all the way down in her bones. 

They had made a place for each other in their lives, had figured out how they fit together and so this felt like just the next…logical step to take.

He sat up suddenly, making it much easier for her to straddle him and kiss him at the same time and she moaned against him as his tongue speared her mouth, clutching at his back. 

Daphne couldn’t help but cry out sharply when he detached his mouth from hers only to catch her nipple in his mouth, sucking at it harshly. 

The heat was back in her body, the feeling of that molten heat moving through her veins, her whole body throbbing in time with her heartbeat. 

She gave herself over to Luke, gave herself over to his skilled mouth and hands, pressing back against him, as she wanted more and more and more. 

A single finger slid inside her and she whimpered in response, her body welcoming him into her slick heat, already wet and needy for him. 

He kissed down her neck, tasting her skin, her body shaking against his. “Good, Sweetheart?” He asked her softly and she could just nod shakily. He found her clit at that moment, his thumb circling the swollen nub, and she grasped at his hand, pulling it against her harder. He got the message, understood what she needed even when she didn’t and changed the pressure just enough that by the second pass she came all over him with a whimper, suddenly overwhelmed. 

That hadn’t been the drawn-out orgasm of the last times, this had been quick and needy and she looked at him, her breaths coming in short gasps, pleasure still thrumming through her. 

He caressed her, turning the sharp bite of pleasure into something languid, leaving her wanting more, even when he leaned over to his bedside table to pull a condom from it. She couldn’t help the flutter of nervousity. in her stomach, but she didn’t shy away from his touch. 

“Ready?” He asked her, his voice gentle and she knew that she could say no at that moment and he would stop and not ask a single question. But she didn’t  **_ want _ ** to stop. 

So she nodded at him, giving him a smile and a lingering kiss. She let him roll over the condom, not trusting herself not to fumble through it in her nervousness. She placed her hands on his shoulders for leverage, letting him kiss her neck again, a kiss against her pulse point where she knew he must have felt how fast her heart was beating. 

She kissed him again, reminding herself that Luke was with her and nothing bad would happen when she sank down onto him. 

Her nails bit into his shoulders and she worried she would hurt him, but he didn’t seem to care. 

He whispered to her, sweet nothings, her name and sweetheart tumbling from his lips as she whimpered against him. 

The feeling was foreign, a fullness of him inside her. It didn’t hurt, not really. A faint burning, the feeling of stretching an unused muscle but not the pain she had expected. 

His hands were on her hips, guiding her down onto him and she could feel them tighten onto her with every inch she took him inside her. He was tightly wound underneath her, the muscles in his shoulders bulging underneath her hands as he groaned. 

“God, Daphne,” Luke groaned and she felt the first moan escape her as she sank onto him even deeper, deeper than she had expected. She could feel him everywhere for a moment, unable not to clench around him inside her, thick and hard filling her so completely that Daphne was overwhelmed with it.

She breathed harshly, not able to move even if she wanted to, just trying to get used to this feeling. 

“Okay?” Luke asked her and she could just nod. 

“Yes,” she brought out with a sigh. Never better. “Perfect.” 

His hand slipped between them, finding her clit again and she jerked against him, a gasp escaping her at what felt like fireworks exploding into her body. 

She clenched around him as he did it again, another whimper escaping her.

“I need to…I need to move,” she brought out shakily, “How.. do I do that?” She asked him, and his hands slid to her hips again, gently guiding her up and done. 

It was like a slowly cresting wave, the two of them at that moment, his hands gently guiding her but falling away once she had figured out the pulling and pushing, once she found a rhythm that worked for the two of them, that made her moan and Luke sigh in pleasure. She kept her heads on his shoulders, her eyes closing on her own accord at the feeling of him setting all her nerves on fire. 

He touched her everywhere he could reach, his hands burying into her hair finally, wrapping the thick silver tendrils around his hands. 

“Let me?” He finally asked sounding nearly broken and she nodded her agreement, understanding instinctually what he needed. He turned them and Daphne was gently placed onto her back, him looming above her, something that she loved. 

She wrapped her legs around him, not wanting him further away from him and he rocked inside her with the first thrust, shocking a gasp out of her, her nails biting into his back. 

At that moment she was very aware of the strength he kept in his body, the carefully controlled way he used it at that moment to bring them both pleasure. 

It took two hard thrusts for him to hit something inside her that made her arch her back into him, that made pleasure explode deep within her, and she knew, she knew it wouldn't be long now. She wanted to ask about the knotting, wanting to ask about the biting, but she could just surrender to her instincts.

There was one last time that he stopped for a tiny moment, their eyes meeting that she knew was the last moment to back off. 

She didn’t. 

She looked at him, looked into his eyes, seeing the warmth and overwhelmedness that she also felt, the love he had for her and she bared her throat to him without another word. She lifted her chin, baring her throat, arching her neck so that he would have full access, so that…

His reaction was immediate. 

His instincts took over the moment, a harsh thrust that made her see stars and then his hot breath on her neck, his teeth against her skin. And then he bit her, the pain jolting through her as she cried out loudly, his hips pistoning into her at the same time. 

Something jerked inside her mind, something sharp and nearly feral. Her mind was completely taken over with that for one single moment and her own instinctual response took over. 

Daphne bit him blindly, feeling his body yerk as well. 

The bond bloomed between them the sudden pleasure in her mind enough to send her spiralling, trying desperately to hold onto her mate even when she could feel that he was just as far gone she was. 

She felt the moment he knotted her, another thing that made her his, irrevocably, the sudden fullness overwhelming her as she shuddered underneath him. He growled against her, his body forcing hers to accept him, all of him. 

She could feel Luke everywhere. Surrounding her. He was still inside her, hot and hard, his teeth were in her neck and her nails in his shoulder, her own teeth in his neck. 

He let her go first, his teeth detaching and licking over the wound he had inflicted, making a shudder run through her at the pure animalistic behaviour. She let go of him, still tasting his blood on her tongue as she detached her own teeth. She shivered as she felt the bond twist and settle in her mind. 

He was there, right inside her in every way. She could feel the bond, an echo of his touch, of his emotions, his feelings. Just like she could tap into her wolf when she needed, she could feel their bond there, a soft and sweet and warm place in her brain that was brimming with love and need at that moment. 

It was so perfect that it nearly brought tears into her eyes as she could feel Luke mentally caress her. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered and she nodded, letting him turn them so that they were laying on their sides, him pulling her as close to him as she could possibly manage. 

“I am…I…I love the bond,” she brought out with a shaky breath. He was there. There was no way Daphne would ever let him go again. She pulled the bond closer to herself, letting it settle in the forefront of her mind. She could feel Luke’s amusement there, how much he simply adored her and she shuddered under the heavyweight of his emotions, not having expected them to be that obvious in their bond. 

“It won’t hurt you,” Luke explained softly, caressing her shoulder, and tucking her underneath his chin. “You can touch it and I’ll feel it and the other way around. You can push me out as well if you need to.”

“I don’t want to push you out,” she whispered. 

He shifted and she shuddered, her body oversensitive and him still deep inside her. 

“I am not hurting you, am I?” He asked her worriedly and she shook her head. 

“Just…full. I feel full,” she admitted, feeling his knot still locking them together.

“It’s weird,” Luke said softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I have never had a need like that before.”

“Biting me?” She asked him curiously and he shook his head. 

“That was done the moment you bared your throat, sweetheart,” he told her with a grin, brushing a kiss against her forehead. 

“Knotting you,” he answered her question finally. “I…needed to do it. Let me try to pull out.”

He leaned in and kissed Daphne’s mouth with his before sliding a hand between them. He caught the edge of the condom and pulled out slowly. “Okay?“

She felt empty but it didn’t hurt, so she just nodded, stretching out on his bed and enjoying the feeling of him as he curled back up with her.

He pulled the blanket around them that she knew she wouldn't even need with him around her but buried herself against him sleepily, purring when he gently brushed her hair away from her face. 

“I love you,” she whispered, hearing him repeat the words before she allowed herself to fall asleep, grasping onto Luke’s as tightly as she could manage through the night. 


	34. Chapter 27

**_ Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting. _ **

_ Napoleon Hill _

He woke up with his mate in his arms, their bond thrumming with her amusement and arousal. 

Luke spooned her, pressing hard against Daphne’s back and she pressed back against him, something that resulted in a groan leaving his throat. 

“You are playing a dangerous game,” he told her drily, not wanting her to stop but also needing her to do that if he was supposed to have any brain cells left that morning. 

“We could try it like that,” Daphne suggested to him, arching back against him and offering her a grin that was equal parts lovely and scary. 

There was a part of him that wanted to mount her. That wanted to have her in that way before they left their home before they saw her father again. 

He brushed his fingers against the bite, the skin now deep purple. That would be unable to be missed. Daphne would smell like she had rolled around in his scent as well, but he wanted to make it even more obvious than that. 

Was he a complete asshole when he wanted to make Cyril Randall see that his daughter was Luke’s in every sense that he could get away from it?

**_ Probably _ ** . 

But Cyril Randall was also a complete asshole so Luke didn’t feel that bad about it. 

So he slipped his fingers down her body, her legs opening for him without another word and finding her wet and ready for him without even anything else he needed to do. She was drenched, a soft moan escaping her as he pressed a kiss against her claiming bite. 

“Are you sure about that?” He asked her because he needed to know that before he allowed himself to even think about anything else. 

“Yes, I…I feel like we need to if that makes sense,” she admitted with a shiver and he hummed his agreement. He could understand that. 

She rolled on her hands and knees, looking at him over her shoulder and for a moment he was overwhelmed at the submissive position she had put herself into for him. 

Especially for Daphne…For Daphne, whose scars marked her back extensively, this was more of a show of trust than anything else. 

He slipped behind her, sliding down her spine with one flat hand that resulted in a shiver running through him.

Luke had her shuddering underneath him before he even thought about taking her, but when he finally pushed inside Daphne, he was overwhelmed by the wet heat that gripped him tightly and was unable not to groan at the way she arched against him. 

He was the one in control at the moment, Daphne didn’t fight him at all, giving him an obvious display of submission and suddenly he realised why they both needed that. 

They were equals in their relationship, they always were but when the times would call for it, she would need to submit to her alpha. And that was Luke. 

He thrust inside her another time, shocking a harsh cry out of her that made him stop. 

“Luke,” she whined in protest, her voice broken. “More, please,” she pleaded desperately. 

That was all he needed to say. He trusted her to know how much she could take because once he did allow himself to put more strength behind his thrust, he was gone. 

It was…animalistic. Far more than Luke had expected it to be and he knew he was rougher with her than he should be, but Daphne didn’t tell him to stop, not even when he forced her down into the mattress, biting her a second time and she cried out sharply. 

She arched against him, the one single thing she did to fight him when he made her his in every sense he could get away with. 

His. She was his. His mate, his Daphne. One day he would be the one that would giver her all the future children she desired and he thrust inside her aggressively, his knot starting to swell now when his teeth were already in her neck, her body still arching against him, high whines leaving her throat. 

And then he could feel the orgasm punch through him with a groan and for the one moment that he wasn’t careful, he pushed his knot right inside her wet heat, her body clenching around him so tightly that it was painful.

She came around him and he knew the moment she submitted to him utterly and completely, a sigh leaving her throat as her body relaxed underneath him. 

***

She submitted to him without a question, accepting his dominance over her body and she could feel her wolf recede in her mind, happy that Daphne had gotten them what they had both needed. 

Namely the insurance that nobody would manage to take her from her mate. 

She knew that even werewolf healing wouldn’t be able to make the mark that painted the right side of her neck impossible. Quite the opposite to be honest. It would be very obvious for anybody. Even a human. 

And her father had absolutely nothing in his hand against them anymore. 

That pleased her far more than it should probably. 

She was Lukes, completely and irrevocably and that just made her giddy with happiness. 

She curled up against him again, his hands caressing her in an absentminded way. It was still early in the morning and she would be fine with resting a little while longer, letting the werewolf healing take care of the soreness their early morning tryst had resulted in. She startled when she could hear steps outside the house. 

Three knocks at the door, but Luke didn’t even flinch. 

“Luke? Daphne?” That was Grace’s voice. “I brought you some clothing but your least favourite alpha is on the way for breakfast. I don’t know why we even need to feed that asshole!” Luke’s sister exclaimed crossly and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh, hiding her face against Luke’s chest.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Luke called back calmly and waited for the steps to go away again before he finally sat up. 

So that was their morning. 

She let him go down and pick up her clothes from the porch and disappear in the bathroom first, while she tried to bring her thoughts into a resemblance of order. 

It didn’t work and she was happy to slip into the bathroom after Luke was finished, leaning against the closed door for a moment. 

Right. 

She took a shower, using Luke’s body wash, a part of her desperately needed to know that his scent would be a bright red neon sign to anybody that came there. When Daphne looked into the mirror to survey the damage, though to speak, she was…a bit shocked, to be honest. 

The bite mark was far bigger than expected, the bruise going from just underneath her jaw down to where her neck met her shoulder, Luke’s teeth marking easily to be seen. 

Her lips were bee-stung and swollen and she was sore all over but at least that wasn’t obvious to anybody else. At least Daphne hoped for that. 

Still, she knew that she could run around with a neon sign that proclaimed her freshly mated and that was probably going to be more subtle than her appearance at this moment. 

Grace had brought her one of her sweaters, a lovely purple one that was as soft as a kitten and she pulled that on, twisting her hair in a bun on top of her head, making the mark on her neck even more obvious. For a moment she thought about hiding it, but that didn’t feel right. 

She didn’t pull on the necklace that Luke had given her, not wanting anything that would pull attention away from the purple bruise on her neck. 

Instead, she left it on the bathroom vanity and left the bathroom.

Luke just took one look at her before he held out his arms for her. 

She stepped into them immediately, tucking her head against his chest, taking a deep breath of his scent. 

It was going to be fine. 

At least she promised herself that. 

That didn’t really help against the rest of things that were flying around her brain and that was making her excessively uncomfortable but it was a start. 

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked her softly, rubbing her back. 

“They are all going to know that we…” she brought out. Somehow that was the one thing throwing her. His parents and Caroline and Matthew had already known it last night that that would happen but still, showing up with the evidence on her body was just making her feel…very weird. 

“Mated? Yeah, the bites are going to exclaim that quite loudly,” Luke answered easily. 

She lifted her head from his chest, takin gin the bruise on his neck. His was light already, Daphne hadn’t quite done as much damage as Luke had managed.

“Had sex,” Daphne clarified with a sigh. “I did not plan to run around with a shield around my neck that proclaimed that I lost my virginity, you know.”

He chuckled at that, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Sorry, Sweetheart.”

“Luke, that’s not funny,” she protested feebly but he shook his head. 

“Daphne…we have an empathic bond making a home in our heads and you are worried that people find out that we had sex. It kinda is amusing,” Luke told her drily. “But don’t worry, nobody is going to say anything.”

How could you be so sure about that?

“Nobody is stupid enough to piss me off today,” Luke answered her unspoken question. “Other than your father…is it bad that I am hoping for that only so that I can take a bite out of him?” He asked her, cocking his head to the side and she sighed. She wanted to do the same thing but somehow doubted that that would go over well. 

So she just nodded. “The only one you are allowed to bite is me,” she told him drily and he laughed loudly at that. 

Cyril Randall wasn’t there yet at the main house so Daphne let Caroline and Cecilia fuss over her, her aunt ignoring the bite mark on her neck but still pressing a kiss to her hair. 

“Everything okay?” Caroline asked her softly and she nodded. It was. Or it would be. She just needed to get over it. 

Cecilia was doing what she was doing best and that was feeding people. 

Daphne tried to very much ignore how both of Luke’s uncles were in the room, both with their mates and how the room was a careful display of strength in numbers.

“How high is the probability that this is going to end violently?” Luke asked the question that had laid on the tip of Daphne’s tongue but she hadn’t actually wanted to ask. 

“Cyril Randall is not a violent man by nature. Not any more than I am,” Stephen answered carefully. “However…you need to know that he could very much see your actions as a challenge of him as an alpha.”

“Why?” Daphne wondered. He hadn’t…She hadn’t. 

“His daughter went against his wishes and made a decision that does not suit him,” Stephen answered delicately but Luke interrupted him.

“He wanted you to come with him. You pretty much told him to go fuck himself,” Luke said drily and shrugged when she stared at him. 

Daphne drew her fingertips over the cold marble of the kitchen island, not looking up as she ordered her thoughts for a moment. 

“Will he get violent with me?” She finally asked. 

“Only if he doesn’t want to leave this room alive,” Luke growled. She reached out to touch her mate, hoping that her touch would soothe him. He relaxed underneath her, his muscles relaxing underneath her touch and he took her hand in his, dropping a kiss to her palm. 

She would prefer Luke not to rip apart her father. 

“You are his cub. He instinctually recognises you like that. Will he actually maim you for life? I very much doubt you. Could his wolf decide to physically discipline you?” Stephen explained. “ ** Maybe ** .”

“If he touches her, I am not going to stand for that,” Luke said tightly and his father met his eyes. They seemed to have a whole conversation with just a quirk of their eyebrow and a pursing of Stephen’s mouth. 

“Nobody would expect you to, Lucas,” Stephen Schuyler finally said. A shiver ran down Daphne’s back when she recognised that the threat would be dealt with one way or another. “He’s on our territory and he wants access to your mate. You are in the right. Daphne has made her decision. Either he accepts it or he is going to regret it. I won’t stand for either my heir or his mate to be questioned regarding their mating bond. Not even the bloody alpha from New York.”

She could hear a car outside then, and the whole room seemed to come to attention. 

“That’s him,” Luke said tightly. 

“Luke, Daphne, on the couch,” Stephen commanded sharply. 

Daphne slid down from the barstool, making her way across the living room. 

It was a carefully crafted tableau, the family placed around them so that all exits were covered so that they had somebody at their back and on every side. She sat next to Luke, pulling his hand in her lap and holding it with both of hers, his fingers tightened around hers nearly imperceptibly as they heard the car door close. 

She leaned back into the couch, knowing that she would never be safer anywhere but there, surrounded by her pack, and schooled her features to be unreadable. 

Luke’s shoulders were tight, a frown on her face and she very gently nudged their bond, sending him some of that safe and warm feeling that built in her stomach whenever he huffed her. 

He looked at her startled for a moment, his mouth working up and then a wave of gratitude wafted over her. 

This was actually kinda cool. She wished they had had that bond beforehand. Sharing her feelings with him like that was…nice. She enjoyed it. 

She listened to the steps of Cyril and Leda Randall on the front porch, his far heavier than the one from his sister and then Stephen opening the door. 

“Good Morning,” Luke’s father greeted the other alpha stepping aside to let him in. 

It took both an eternity and a heartbeat for her father to see her. 

She met his gaze unflinchingly, holding Luke’s hand in both of hers possessively and making it very, very clear what choice she had made. 

She watched the emotions play over his face, from surprise to shock and something ugly she couldn’t place before his expression locked and her own eyes concentrated on her face. 

“How could you be so  **_ stupid _ ** ?” He spat out. 

That were not the words Daphne had expected but she didn’t flinch. She set her jaw, squared her shoulders and answered. 

“You don’t get to decide my life for me,” she told him sharply. Not him. He didn’t even know her. How could he possibly know what would make Daphne  _ happy _ ?

“I am your father! And I get to make the decisions if yours are  **_ clearly _ ** not thought out at all,” he snapped right back at her but she just lifted an eyebrow. 

“Actually…this was quite the calculated decision. Luke and our pack or you and…a city that I don’t ever want to set foot into again,” she gave back drily. She had thought it through for months. She had known exactly what she was doing. And in the end, it hadn’t been a decision at all anymore. 

It had been as easy as breathing. 

“Have you  **_ any _ ** idea what you have done?” He demanded to know, and Daphne met his eyes unapologetically. 

“I bonded with my mate. I am quite happy with the outcome,” she answered the question she knew was meant rhetorically. 

Daphne was happy with the outcome. And that was all that counted. 

“You threw away your life,” her father hissed. “You threw away your life to be nothing but a broodmare for a  **_ boy _ ** . You threw away your life for this  _ antiquated _ ,  _ small _ and  **_ pastoral _ ** town. What were you  **_ thinking _ ** ?” He demanded and she could just stare at him. 

“That it is my decision,” she said tightly. It was her decision. If she wanted to spend the rest of her life in Fairbury then that was her choice. And she quite liked her  _ antiquated _ ,  _ small _ and  **_ pastoral town.  _ ** “I’m not going to apologise for making a decision that suits  **_ me.” _ **

That was  ** exactly ** the wrong thing to say. 

“You are just like your mother,” he said a sharp laugh punctured his words.“She never knew what was good for her either.”

Daphne had never agreed with the whole “Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you” mantra. 

Words had a power that physical pain didn’t have. Physical pain was something she was used to. Something that slowly seemed to disappear into her memory, after it had happened. 

Words…words still hurt years later if she thought about them. Words hurt the same whenever she thought about it again. 

And these words hurt. 

They cut like a scalpel, deep and clean into a part of her that Daphne didn’t like to visit anymore. 

She pushed it all away, not thinking about it, not wanting it to colour her life at that moment. She didn’t think her mother deserved another minute of her time, so she concentrated on a lot more pleasant things. 

But she couldn’t help herself at that moment, the words dragging up emotional pain that she normally kept under lock and key, that normally Daphne didn’t allow to the surface. It dragged up a fury that slumbered in her chest and that Daphne knew would consume her if she would let it. 

But at that moment, the fury was overwhelming. 

Like a separate entity in her chest as she shot up, shrugging of Luke’s hands. 

He didn’t reach out for her a second time. 

She passed the room, getting right up into her father’s face. 

She didn’t slap him. She wanted to. The want was there. But if she gave in to that, she would have been a bit similar to her mother than she was willing to be and she would not go down that route. 

She was nothing like Michelle. 

Michelle had slapped her if she said anything that didn’t suit her. Daphne was not going to it. 

So she glared at her father, purple eyes sparking amber in a way that would have told anybody else to back off. 

“I am nothing like her,” Daphne spit out. “And if you ever compare me to her again, you will regret it.”

“Go away. Leave me in peace. I don’t want anything from you and I am not prepared to give you anything either,” she snapped sharply. She just wanted him to  **_ go _ ** . She wanted a peaceful life. Couldn’t he just leave her in peace? “I made my choice. My family is here and that’s all I care about.”

She saw the shocked look at his face when he realised that he had made her furious and she allowed herself to feel some of the sick satisfaction that had been blubbering in her stomach. “And if I want to be nothing but Lucas’ broodmare, that’s still my decision,” she added softly. She didn’t, but she also wouldn’t let her father think that only because she had children with Luke, she had nothing else to do. 

Cyril opened his mouth but she cut him off before he could say another word. 

“You showed up here, trying to rip me away from my mate and my pack and now you think that you get to tell me how disappointed you are in me?” She laughed quietly at that, shaking her head. “You may supplied half my DNA but that doesn’t give you the right to lecture me. Not if you have no idea what you are talking about.”

She turned around without a second look, trusting Luke to keep anybody else from following them and went straight outside. 

She couldn’t keep herself from shifting, not even the sound of ripping clothing deterred her as she slipped into her wolf form, the world feeling a bit less scary like that. 

Heading straight into the forest, she went to hide against a fallen tree, burying her face against her paws. She didn’t want to see anybody but Luke. She just wanted to be left in peace. 

* _ I think you managed to make him speechless _ ,*Luke told her drily. 

* _ Good. Maybe he is going to leave me in peace now _ ,* Daphne whispered. Crying in wolf form had turned out to be impossible, so she just leaned against Luke’s wolf form when he laid down next to her, closing her eyes.

_ *You are nothing like her,* _ Luke said softly and if she was a human she would have shrugged. 

_ *Maybe I am…*  _ Daphne admitted. It scared her, but she didn’t lie to herself either. * _ I can be just as quick to judge as she is…and bury my temper until I blow my lid. I have her hair…and her statue…we are both really small.*  _ But there was one difference between the two of them _. *I am never going to hurt my baby as she hurt me,*  _ Daphne swore and Luke just nuzzled her head. 

She wouldn’t. Her children would never need to live through the same pain that Daphne had survived. She wouldn’t stand for that. 

_ *Cyril Randall didn’t know her very well, I think,* _ Daphne said softly after a moment.  _ *Otherwise he would have checked up on her, wouldn’t he? And then he would have found me.* _

Daphne couldn’t help but think about how maybe it would have all worked out differently when her father would have found out when she was still a child. Daphne knew that if she had been given the opportunity to leave with him when she was still younger she would have happily taken it. She would have given everything for that. 

_ *She lived in his territory. I went to school in his territory. I was hurt there,*  _ Daphne whispered and took a deep breath before she finally admitted something she had thought about for a few weeks. _ *I…I think…I think my wolf was always there. Buried underneath the surface…but she protected me.* _

_ *What do you remember?*  _ Luke asked her carefully but she could feel his curiosity in the back of her head, together with worry and something that she knew to be the soft bit of adoration that he always felt when he laid eyes onto her. 

_ *One time, Michelle hit me with a whiskey bottle. Square over the head. I remember that nothing ever hurt as much as that did…everything went black around me,*  _ Daphne answered, unable to keep the shudder at bay that worked through her body when she pulled the memory to the forefront of her mind.  _ *I woke up a few hours later…in a pool of my own blood. But there wasn’t…there wasn’t a wound anymore. I had blood all over my shirt and my hair but I couldn’t find a wound big enough from where it had come. I had healed.* _

_ *Werewolf healing,* Luke whispered and she nodded. *She was always there. Protecting you. Sheltering you. Just under the surface.* _

_ *She was,* Daphne agreed. Hidden away but still there if Daphne needed her.  _

_ *Bond Rot,* _ Luke finally said after another moment. _ *I would bet everything that that was what went on with your parents.*  _ He sighed softly, the topic obviously not something that he enjoyed very much.  _ *It would make sense, you know? Your father would have kept as far away from Michelle as he possible could…would never willingly search her out again when he would need to be confronted with their failing bond that one of the two of them probably severed in the end. Bond Rot during a pregnancy…it would force your wolf down so that you wouldn’t be hurt. We have very much a protective instinct for humans.*  _

_ *If your mother was damaged enough by that bond rot…and her addiction problems, it probably gave her a sense of satisfaction to keep you apart from your pack. Because even when you were a human you still would have been raised in a pack and needed the pack bonds. Michelle had the daughter of the alpha and he had absolutely no idea about it and she wasn’t about to tell him,”  _ Luke continued and Daphne just nodded her agreement. It didn’t sound like a nice story. It was a painful one to hear and she didn’t even want to imagine to live through it. 

They didn’t know if it was the actual truth, didn’t know if every detail was correct, but it fit the facts they knew and that would be enough for Daphne. A year beforehand she would have wanted to have an explanation for her mother’s behaviour but by now Daphne really couldn’t care less. She had a life to live. Wondering about what if’s wouldn’t help her with that.

* _ If he had found out about you…he would have taken you to him. You would have grown up as his heiress,*  _ Luke told her softly. _ *He wouldn’t have left you with her. Not under any circumstances. It would have gone against every single one of his instincts.* _

It was a nice daydream, wasn’t it? Nothing that had anything to do with the decisions, Daphne had made herself by now, but she liked to think that if the circumstances were different…maybe she would have been able to have a relationship with her father. Maybe she would have had a different childhood. She hadn’t though. 

And so she would need to be content with them both keeping their distance from each other. 

_ *Do I…Do I have half-siblings? Do you know if he has kids?*  _ Daphne wondered quietly and before Luke could answer she heard the movements of another wolf behind them, something that made Luke jump up and growl in warning. 

Light grey, amber eyes, female if Daphne needed to guess. 

The scent was sweet but sour, and it only took her a moment to place it as belonging to Leda Randall. 

Her  **_ aunt _ ** . 

_ *Two. Theodore is 9. And Zoe is 5,*  _ she answered Daphne’s question, her voice trying but failing at being casual. * _ I am going to drag my brother away in a little while. He won’t bother you anymore. I’ll make him talk to Maryse…his wife. He hasn’t even told her the full story.* _

Daphne nodded her agreement at that. 

_ *I don’t want anything from him. Tell her she doesn’t need to worry about me being…*  _ she said impulsively not wanting to make any more problems than she already had. 

_ *I know. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that, I promise,*  _ Leda told her, something akin as amusement seeping into her tone before she grew serious again. * _ He was wrong, you know? You aren’t like your mother.*  _

_ *If you tell me now that I am just like him, don’t,* Daphne said tightly. This was enough emotional upheaval for a day.  _

_ *I wouldn’t. That would be a lie,*  _ Leda told her, her voice coloured by good humour. _ *Your grandfather though…very much so. On second thought…maybe even a bit like me.*  _

Daphne didn’t ask after her grandfather, decided that there were some things she didn’t need to know. 

_ *If you need anything…anything at all, let me know,* _ Leda finally told her gently. * _ And if you ever…if you ever feel up to it…Caroline has his phone number. If you ever…If you ever chose to forgive him enough…he would love to get a call from you.* _

Daphne highly doubted that, but she nodded, letting her paternal aunt dart away again and physically shook her body to get rid of all the weird feelings she was having. 

She looked over to Luke, who stood in at her side.

_ *Can we go for a run? Just far away from here?* _ she requested. Just Luke and her. For a little while. Then she would continue to figure out the rest of it all. 

_ *Of course, sweetheart,*  _ he agreed immediately and they fell into an easy trot alongside each other. 

She loved that. Loved the feeling of the moist earth underneath her paws and the strength in her legs that she knew would be able to carry her so much farther than her human body would ever manage to. 

She looked up in the sky, feeling how the cloudy sky was slowly beginning to brighten. Luke’s black fur was gleaming with the few sun rays that came through the thick trees and she could feel his touch against their bond, a quiet “I love you.” 

Daphne pushed back against him with all the affection and love she had for him, making him stumble for a moment. 

They came to a clearing, the sun now shining brightly, the sky azure blue and Daphne knew that everything would be alright. 

The snow had melted away, giving way to new life and that was something that Daphne would always be thankful for. A few flowers were there already, valiantly fighting their way to the surface and she pranced over there to smell them, promptly managing to sneeze. 

Spring had arrived in Fairbury. 


	35. Interlude: Regret

**_ Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret.  _ **

_ Anonymous _

He watched his daughter leave the room in an obvious snit, the fury obvious in every single cell of her being. He couldn’t help but be startled as she shifted so suddenly that her clothing ripped apart at the seams and then took straight off into the forest. A startling white wolf, looking very much like him.

It only took a second for Lucas Schuyler to move into her direction, following his daughter outside. His shifting was far more fluid than Daphne’s had been. 

“Maybe you should teach her some manners. She seems terrible uncivilised,” he said tightly, to nobody in particular, but it was Matthew Hyde, that finally lost his cool. 

He was the last one Cyril had expected to do that, Caroline’s husband was notoriously even-tempered. 

His coffee cup hit the table he had been standing at and he growled, a partial shift rippling over his body. 

“Oh, if you compared me to the woman who made my life a living hell for 16 years and nearly beat me to death half a dozen time then my response would be even less civilised than she has been,” he snapped out sharply.

Cyril could just stare at him. That was the last thing he had expected. He had read Daphne’s medial file but that had been thin and…Michelle would never…she wouldn’t. Right?

“What do you…mean with that?” He brought out, his voice close to the breaking point. He could feel his wolf twist in his chest with helpless fury, the idea of his daughter being hurt by her own mother like that too much for him to even taken. 

“When she first came to us, she flinched at every quick movement. She stiffened if you did as much as hug her…and her back was a bloody mess of belt marks,” Matthew Hyde told him matter of factly. Cyril could smell the fury on the other man, could smell how much even the memories of that affected him. “She has cigarette marks all down her thighs. She has scars all over her back. She probably had more broken bones than you could count on both hands. She has  **_ every _ ** hallmark from an abused child.” 

He wanted to throw up. That’s what he wanted to do. Matthew Hyde’s voice pushed into every cell of his body and made him want to kill Michelle. 

How could she do that? How could she have hurt their daughter like that?

“I didn’t…I didn’t…know.” He struggled to bring out the words, struggled to find the right ones. 

If he had known, he wouldn’t have let Daphne in that situation for a single second longer. He would have made sure that nobody would hurt her again. 

And suddenly…suddenly he realised that that was all he had done since he had come here. 

Leda had warned him and he had ignored it, ignored it all. 

Daphne had found herself a place here in Fairbury, somewhere where she was happy. She had made her decisions, ignoring his wishes and he would need to respect that if he wanted to have at least some kind of relationship with her. And he did want that. He wanted nothing more to be honest. 

“No, that much was certain. You are an asshole but you aren’t that much of an asshole. Even when your appearance here could have made me think otherwise,” Stephen said calmly. “You know, we didn’t know about the belt marks. Only after another human hurt her here, we found them. They were infected by then. She spent the better part of a month in absolute agony because she didn’t tell any of us.” 

“Daphne threw herself in her relationship with my son without so much of a second thought. She was desperate for the security that the idea of a mate gave her. She was greedy for every bit of attention he gave her,” Stephen continued. “She adores him. Completely and unapologetically. You never had a chance against Luke.” 

Didn’t Cyril no that? 

She maybe was his daughter but that was something that she would never choose to be when the other choice was her mate. 

Not that he could fault her. Lucas Schuyler was obviously adoring her, Cyril could admit that. Daphne had chosen his pack and his family and as much as he disliked it…

“And telling her she will be nothing but his broodmare was  **_ exactly _ ** the wrong thing to tell her,” Caroline said sharply. His word choice had been poor but it was what he was worried about. He had seen it often enough, had seen how the woman in a pack could be subjected and be nothing more than a womb to fill with another cub. 

Alone the idea of that was pissing him off so badly that he shivered with just so suppressed rage. He had seen the way Lucas Schuyler looked at her. There was to hope that the boy would at least put a ring on her finger before he knocked her up but to be honest, Cyril wasn’t sure if that would make it better or worse. 

He wanted more for Daphne. He wanted her to have a full and  **_ big _ ** life. 

“Have you ever thought about the idea that maybe she wants this  _ rural _ and  _ pastolic _ life?” Stephen asked him gently and he closed his eyes. “She wants a house with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. You maybe want something more for her but Daphne doesn’t. She wants her small, idyllic life where the only thing she needs to worry is my son.” 

He could see how for her that maybe had appeal. Could see how she would choose the security of the Schuyler pack over anything else because it was the first and only security his daughter had ever felt in her life. 

“Just leave her in peace for a bit, alright?” Caroline said softly. “She doesn’t hold grudges, she just needs some time.” 

“I…She’s my daughter,” he whispered helplessly. His daughter. His little girl. 

“We know that. We would never keep her away from you. But it needs to happen on  _ her _ terms,” Matthew said calmly. Far more politely than Cyril probably had the right to expect at the moment. “Leave your contact details here. We’ll make sure she will get them. She will come to you when she is ready to listen to your apologies.” 

He turned for his sister, surprised to find her heading out in the direction Luke and Daphne had left and chose to wait in the car. 

He wasn’t welcome here and he couldn’t fault them for it. 

Leda showed up a few minutes later and he knew that he was in for a lecture when she climbed in the passenger seat. 

“Congratulations, Cyril,” his sister snorted. “You managed to push her straight into the arms of her mate.”

He had, hadn’t he?

“Are you actually surprised?” Leda asked him with a raised eyebrow. “She’s  **_ besotted _ ** with Lucas Schuyler. He’s the one thing in her life that she trusts unconditionally. More even than Caroline and Matthew. She adores him, Cyril. She submits to him without questions and he keeps her safe and frankly,  **_ coddles _ ** her to an untold degree.” 

Cyril didn’t even want to know what coddling even meant for his daughter. He was pissed off as hell about the whole situation and that Daphne had made that decision with what seemed not even a second thought. 

“You can’t fault him for taking what’s rightfully his. She’s his.” His sister continued. “He has more of a right to her than you. How did you think she would react to your appearance?” Leda asked with a snort. “Throw away the family she has just acquired to come with the father she never met? Throw away a relationship with Lucas Schuyler who obviously adores her and spoils her rotten? She did what she had to stay where she wants to stay. You can’t separate mated werewolves. It’s not done.”

It wasn’t. Cyril took a deep breath as his sister pummelled into him with stone-cold logic and facts. She had always been good at that. 

“You pushed Daphne straight into making that decision,” his sister accused and as he opened his mouth to protest she just snorted. “He’s her  **_ mate _ ** .  _ Of _ _ course _ , she would choose him. She chose her mate, she chose his family, his pack.” 

And that knowledge…that hurt more than Daphne being upset with him. Knowing that he had never even stood a chance. 

“Leave her alone, Cyril,” Leda finally said with a sigh. “She’s hurt and angry at you and you can just hope that Lucas Schuyler is not going to make you pay for this. She has made a decision that does not suit you but that makes her happy,” his sister snapped. “Have you ever thought about the option that maybe,  **_ maybe _ ** , Daphne  **_ wants _ ** nothing more but to be his mate? To give him cubs? To be nothing more than a stay at home mum, dabbling in art? To be nothing but his  **_ broodmare _ ** ?” 

“You want her to be a strong independent woman? Then you need to respect her choices,” his sister snapped. “She has them. I am not going to let you take them away from her. Nor her mate. She can do whatever she wants, and I’ll make it clear to her that she will have my full support.”

“If you prefer to be an asshole about this than that is your decision,” Leda ended her tirade. “Leave her alone. Don’t meddle in her life.”

“I will,” he agreed, clearly shocking his sister. 

“You will?” She asked him surprised. 

“She has made her decision,” Cyril agreed as he started the car. He didn’t like it one bit but there were some things that he knew were going to destroy their relationship irreparably. Not accepting her mate was one of them. 

“I thought that taking control of that situation was going to make it all better,” he admitted. “I was wrong.”

“You were,” Leda agreed. “You know nothing about her,” Leda told him with a sigh. “Absolutely nothing. You would have ripped her out of the only home she ever knew, taken her back here where the only things she has are terrible memories and thrown painting supplies at her, because you hoped that you could somehow buy her affection,” his sister said softly. “You would have done that…you know what she would have done? She would have finished High School in the next year and the day she turned 18 she would have walked out of your house and never returned. She would have gone straight to Luke Schuyler’s side and he would have ripped apart any bonds our packs had. You would have made her sick with worry and fear, all because you think you have a  **_ right _ ** to her.”

Yes. That was exactly what he would have done. 

He liked to think that Daphne would have gotten used to it, that it wouldn’t have ended like that. He would have liked to think that maybe a bit of stance was all that they would have needed. Mating was fragile, especially in the early stages. It could have been broken with distance and maybe Lucas Schuyler would have found another girl that was a fit for him, a girl that didn’t happen to be Cyril’s daughter. 

“You don’t have a right to her, Cyril. She made the decision that was best for her and her mate. I think after the life she had, she has  **_ earned _ ** that right.”

She did. 

Daphne had earned that right. 


	36. Epilogue

**_ Being Happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.  _ **

_ Anonymous _

** 3 months later:  **

“I swear, you are insane!” Daphne exclaimed when the icy cold water was just reaching her ankle. 

Why exactly had she thought that was a good idea?

Because Luke had been excited like a puppy about the idea of going to the beach and having the first swim of the season and even Grace and Kiana had agreed with that excitement. 

Daphne had let herself be pulled along with their enthusiasm and now she was seriously regretting her life choices. 

The sun was maybe shining and for Fairbury, it was actually surprisingly warm, but the ocean was still icy. 

“Come on, Daphne, it’s not that bad!” Ollie exclaimed loudly from where he and Luke were roughhousing in the deeper water, an undignified squeak coming from him when Luke dunked him under moments later. 

Grace laughed at her mate and Kiana splashed at him with water. 

“It’s icy!” She shouted back, backing away so that she wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of Kiana and Oliver behaving like 5-year-olds. 

“Oh no, Sweetheart, you are getting in that water,” Luke threatened her with a laugh and playfully grabbed after her. 

She tried to get away from him, unable to stop laughing when he shook his head like an overgrown dog, droplets landing all over her and then hefted her up over his shoulder. 

“No, Luke!” She squealed in protest but that didn’t help her either as he unceremoniously dumped her into the deeper water. 

She came up sputtering for breath and rounded onto her mate, who looked far to pleased with himself. “I hate you!” She glowered at Luke, who looked at her unapologetically, still laughing.

“You know I would take you more seriously when you didn’t have seaweed stuck on your head,” he told her laughingly.

SEAWEED?!?

He got said seaweed thrown against his chest, something that just resulted in the rest of their group cracking up as she splashed water at him.

Luke just reached out for her, pulling her close to him and kissing her, something that always managed to make her forget whatever else she had been doing beforehand. 

She leaned into his touch, but still reached out to poke into his ribs when he let her go. 

“I haven’t forgotten yet,” she told him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Oh, I know. But you aren’t telling me the water is icy anymore,” Luke teased her. 

He was right. It wasn’t even that bad anymore. 

“Come on, we’ll try to teach you how to swim,” Kiana suggested. “And then you can dunk Luke underwater and exact your revenge.” 

They did teach her how to swim, or at least tried to. Daphne probably would need a lot more instruction before she was even half as good as the rest of them, but she trusted herself not to drown anymore, even when she flailed around mindlessly once and landed a hit into Luke’s stomach. 

They made a bonfire afterwards, Daphne having pulled on one of Luke’s sweaters after their swim and now reclining back against him, sitting between his legs and relaxing against his broad chest. 

The sun was slowly setting over the ocean, painting the sky in all colours of pink and purple. 

It was a beautiful sight. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, making a photo of it, mostly because she wanted to paint it the next day. 

“Inspiration for the next book?” Luke asked her amused and she snorted in amusement. 

“Maybe,” she admitted with a sigh. “Leda called me about it a few days ago. Whenever I am ready but they were hoping for early next year.”

The Adventures of Princess Plumella and Buttercup had been published a month ago and to the surprise of Daphne…it had done surprisingly well. 

“You wrote a New York Times Bestseller. It makes sense that they want a Sequel,” Luke gave back drily, pride obvious in his voice. 

She couldn’t help against the warmth that pooled in her belly at that when she felt his arms tighten around her a bit more and a kiss being pressed against her mating bite. 

“Will you ever call him?” Luke asked her softly. 

There was no question about who Luke was talking about. 

“I…I am thinking about it,” Daphne admitted. “I…Is that okay?”

She had no idea how she should deal with it. She had made her decision for her pack without a second pack but she didn’t know how all of that would fit together with her father being the Alpha of New York. 

“He’s your father. You have the opportunity to get to know him. You should take it,” Luke answered calmly. “I am never going to keep you apart from him.”

His tone of voice added the “ _ other than he tried to do to us” _ . 

She could try though, couldn’t she? If it didn’t work…she could go back to ignoring everything about the man that had given her half her DNA. 

Daphne leaned back against Luke, staring at the flickering flames of the bonfire, hearing the quiet conversation of Grace and Ollie, who were getting stuff ready to make hotdogs and s’mores. 

She made her decision then. 

Tomorrow she would call her father. Tomorrow she would figure out what to do with that relationship. 

Tomorrow Grace, Kiana and Daphne would go shopping for Junior Prom Dresses. Tomorrow she would paint her nails bright bubblegum pink and chat with Olivia during Lunch, laughing about whatever jokes Jason told her. 

Tomorrow she would tease Oliver during breakfast and go for a run with Luke before school even started. 

Tomorrow she would enjoy life in Fairbury with everything she had. 

But Today…Today she would look over the ocean, breathe in the ocean breeze and think about how thankful she was. She would hold Lukes's hand and trace that scar on his pinky that he had since his 8th birthday and an accident involving his monster truck toy. Today she would enjoy the feeling of the sun on her skin and Luke’s fingers stroking over the palm of her hand. 

Today she would eat hotdogs and s’mores at that bonfire surrounded by the family she had chosen. 

Today she would be happy. 

* * *

The End


	37. A Note From The Author

**_It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later._ **

There we are.

Nearly 150k and 9 months later, it’s finished.

I love the world I have created in this story. Of Luke and Daphne and Fairbury. Of Werewolves and pack politics and love.

Right now, this is all I am going to write in this world. In the future, I may return to it, because I don’t think Luke and Daphne’s story is over yet. But for the moment…I think I came to a good place where I can leave them alone for a little while without feeling too bad for it.

Thank you so much to anybody that gave Kudos or commented on this story. Writing a story is always made all the more fun through the readers, and you have made this a truly special experience.

So what’s next?

Actually I have no idea ;)

NaNoWriMo kicks off in November, so while I am back at University and won’t have the time to write 50k in 30 days I will start a new story. I just haven’t decided yet what that is going to be.

Currently, I am just mulling over a lot of different ideas. Some of them are more Romance-novel- esque (a bit of a mashup of Gossip Girl and Juilliard in New York, with a kidnapped baby that is found 23 years later and then needs to figure out life with her biological family), some are _very_ Christmas themed (Horses! And Foals! And Best Friends to lovers with the help of a mistletoe!), and some are more of a continuation of one-shots I wrote (If you read the other story on my profile, you should be familiar with Bee Robinson and Robinson Zoo, the result of me watching too many episodes of Crocodile Hunter when I had the flu last year).

Anybody has any other thoughts, tidbits, ideas and questions to ask and to share with me, throw it my way, I can always use more inspiration.

But for the moment:

We’ll see us soon and thank you so very much.

I appreciate every single one of you out there.

Xoxo,

C.


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